Strawberry Wine
by windycloudcakes
Summary: Haley goes to visit her grandparents for the summer but ends up wanting someone else to keep her company while she is there. Naley!
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so I am back with a new story...well, new for me, but the concept is pretty unoriginal. Oh well, I am loving writing it so far. It's fun, it's flirty, it's light and a quick read. I hope that you guys enjoy it as well. Anyway, it's basically a typical teenage summer romance story. Girl meets boy, they start to date, eventually they fall in love, but then boy and girl go seperate ways at the end of summer. I hope that you stick with it to the end to see how Nathan and Haley get through their summer together.**

**I have been listening to a set playlist while writing. If you are interested in what those songs are, take a look:**

**Stawberry Wine- Deana Carter (I was inspired by this song originally to even write this. In case you didn't notice, that is why the story is called 'strawberry wine')**

**That Summer- Garth Brooks**

**Today Was A Fairytale- Taylor Swift**

**Somebody Like You- Keith Urban**

**Tim McGraw- Taylor Swift**

**Stuck Like Glue- Sugarland**

**I Won't Let Go- Rascal Flatts**

**Last Kiss- Taylor Swift**

**How Do I Live- Leann Rimes**

**Austin- Blake Shelton**

**There you have it. The summary and playlist for my new story.**

**Oh, and I disclaim everything that I do not own...i.e. the characters and all the songs :)**

**As always, Enjoy :)**

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><p>"Grandma? Grandpa? Anyone home?" Haley asked as she walked into her grandparents' house. Every summer growing up she would go visit them in North Carolina. She lived in California with her parents, but her favorite part of the year was traveling to the East Coast to help out at her grandparents' farm. All of her friends would ask her why she didn't want to be at home over the summer, but her answer was always the same; "I will be at home, the farm is my home too." She loved her grandparents, and Brian and Camilla Durham were the coolest people she could ask for to represent that generation of her family.<p>

"They're outback on the porch." Someone said as they walked inside behind her.

"Oh, ok I'll just go out there then. Who are you?" Haley asked.

"I'm Nathan." He said and extended his hand. She shook it and smiled at him. "I am helping Whitey with the farm for the summer. You know, earning a few bucks."

"Sounds like fun." She said and smiled. They kept smiling and maintaining eye contact for a while until she decided that she needed to go see her grandparents. "Well, I guess I better go outback." She said and motioned with her thumb over her shoulder.

"Sure, um, do you want me to put your things in your room for you?" He asked.

"Ok, thank you Nathan. That would be very nice of you."

"It's not a problem. Besides, I'm sure it is in my job description somewhere." He smirked and watched as she laughed and nodded before walking outside.

"Huh, you know it would be nice if a girl could get a greeting from the grandparents that she hasn't seen in like nine months." Haley joked as she walked out onto the porch.

"Well, we figured that we would just save some time and meet you out here since it is usually your first stop." Whitey said as he and Camilla got up to hug Haley.

"We sure have missed you Haley Bob." Camilla said and went in for a second hug.

"I missed you guys too. It has been way too long. You should have seen me last night. Mom and dad were laughing as I paced around the kitchen complaining that time wasn't going by fast enough."

"Well, patience was never your strong point sweetie." Whitey said. "Now come on and sit with us. Your grandma made some sweet tea just for you, but we've been enjoying it while waiting."

"So it's almost gone then?" Haley joked.

"You did take an awful long time to join us out here. What were you doing?" Whitey asked.

"Oh, I bet I know what she was doing. You met Nathan didn't you?" Camilla asked.

"Yeah, I did, but what does that have to do with anything?" Haley asked.

"Hey, I'm just saying the boy is handsome. If I were your age and he was inside the house I wouldn't be sitting out here with my boring old grandparents."

"Camilla, is that why you encouraged me to hire him? Because you could use some eye-candy out here?" Whitey asked.

"Honey, no, that is ridiculous. It is because Haley could use some eye-candy." Camilla said and smiled, winking at Haley.

"Grandma, I don't need eye-candy." Haley laughed. "Besides, I already have an amazing view right from this porch." She said and nodded toward the yard. It was one of the most beautiful views she had ever seen. Nothing compared to it where she lived. There were colorful flowers of all different shapes and sizes, the most lush, green grass she had ever seen, this row of tall trees that cast a comfortable shade for the days when it got too hot, and fields of crops from corn to strawberries.

"Yes, but it is always nice to throw a sweaty shirtless man into the picture. That is why I'm still with your grandfather." Camilla said. Haley looked over at Whitey who just smiled and shook his head. They all knew that Camilla was joking and Haley couldn't help but to laugh as Whitey sucked in his stomach and puffed out his chest.

"I guess you're right, it doesn't hurt." Haley said, once again smiling. She took a sip of her sweet tea and closed her eyes as she felt the total feeling of summer wash over her. "I know I say this every year, but everything is better here."

"It's just different darlin'. I'm sure that there is plenty of stuff that you can get back home that people would never expect to find here." Whitey said.

"Yeah, I suppose, but every time I drink sweet tea or I walk down the street or I see someone on a riding mower I immediately go to this place filled with memories." Haley explained.

"I know, and you know what, your mother felt the exact same way for years but then she met your father and everything changed for her. Just wait, you'll see, but this farm will always be here for you." Whitey said.

Haley nodded and leaned her head back on the back of the chair as she tried to get reacquainted with the humidity and mosquitoes.

"Alright dear, why don't you go get settled in and washed up, then the two of us can get started on dinner while your grandfather helps Nathan finish up the farm work?" Camilla said and stood up.

"That sounds great." Haley said and stood up as well, following her grandma into the house. Before she got to the door she turned around and looked out into the fields one more time, letting the view pull her back into that wonderful summer feeling. When she turned to open the screen door, Nathan was on the other side about to exit. She smiled shyly and stepped aside to let him pass. He smiled back at her and held the door open.

"Thanks." She said as she walked through. She heard him reply with a "you're welcome" and snuck a quick peek over her shoulder to see him walking out into the yard to where her grandfather was standing.

After quickly emptying her suitcases and putting everything in the correct drawer or closet she washed her hands and headed down the stairs to help her grandmother make dinner.

"Hey grams." She said as she walked into the kitchen. "What can I do to help?"

Camilla looked around and saw a basket of freshly picked corn cobs on the counter. A sly smile crossed her face as she picked it up and handed it off to Haley. "How about you go out and sit on the grass while you shuck these. They would be perfect to have with the hamburgers that I am whipping up."

"Ok, that sounds amazing. I'll get right on that." Haley replied and took the basket from her grandmother who just happened to be following behind her. "Grams, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh nothing. I just need to go pick up the pitcher of sweet tea that I left out here earlier." Camilla replied with that same sly smile on her face.

"Ok, if that's your story." Haley said and went right to sit down on the grass and begin working on the corn cobs.

Camilla walked over and grabbed the pitcher all the while looking around trying to spot what she was looking for. Just when she was about to give up, she saw them walking back in from the strawberry fields.

"Nathan!" She yelled out to them.

Immediately, Nathan and Whitey broke out of their conversation and looked up to see Camilla waving them down.

"Yes ma'am?" He asked politely.

"First of all Nate, we've been over this before I appreciate that you are polite but please call me Camilla. Ma'am is just far too formal." She smiled and he laughed, nodding. "Second, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I don't want to impose. I mean your granddaughter just got into town." He replied.

"If it were an imposition, I wouldn't have invited you." She pointed out. "Besides, it would be nice for Haley to have someone around her age here. In fact, you should go help her shuck the corn. There's a lot over there and we want it to be done in time to cook it. What do you say?"

"Well, if you insist." He said, smiling at her.

"Now hold on one second Nathan. You be nice to my granddaughter, none of your funny business." Whitey said.

"Brian, leave the boy alone. He is just going to help her out." Camilla said and she winked at Nathan. "Just like you are going to help me out in the kitchen." She said and started to drag him to the door.

"Better not be the same, we're married." Whitey huffed under his breath.

Nathan just laughed and headed over to sit next to Haley.

"Hey," he greeted as he sat down. "Camilla wanted me to help you out. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me." She smiled at him as she grabbed another cob. After about a minute of sitting there in silence she decided to get some conversation going. "So, how do you know my grandparents?"

"Oh, Whitey was my basketball coach in high school. And while I could play, I wasn't exactly the best student. I understood the material but I was stubborn and lazy. He was able to pull me out of that arrogant place and help me reach my full potential. Because of Whitey I was able to get into a college that taught you more than just how to take someone's order. So I decided that since I need to pay off college and he needed some extra help I would come and put myself to use."

"That is really nice of you. Thanks for doing that. I know my grandpa and he is pretty stubborn himself. I mean I love him and all but he just doesn't know when to quit and I don't want him hurting himself by working too hard out in the fields, you know?"

"I completely understand. That is part of the reason that I decided to help him out too, especially since that is what happened to my grandpa."

"Oh my god, are you serious? I am so sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." She said and put her hand over her mouth, shocked that she had said something to hurt him. She put her other hand on his arm and was about to apologize again when she saw the look on his face. He wasn't sad or serious, he was laughing. "Are you serious? You were just messing with me?" She asked.

"Yeah, sorry but it was just too perfect and your reaction was amazing." He said, still laughing.

"Oh, whatever, you're going to get it now."

"Yeah? What are you going to do?" He asked with a smile and a playful hint in his eyes.

"Um, how about you have to shuck the rest of the corn? I'm not going to help you now." He gave her a disbelieving look and she just shook her head. "Go ahead, don't do it. But just you wait, my grandmother may look like a kind old lady but she is tough and when someone messes with her dinner preparations no one can contain the beast from within."

"Ok, fine, you got me. You're just lucky I have a weak spot for your grandmother."

"That's the only reason you're going to do it? I thought I was very persuasive."

"You were, you convinced me to stay and do your job." He smiled and looked over at her. "Anyway, I'll finish this on one condition."

"Name it and we'll see." She said and pointed her finger at him.

"You stay out here and keep me company. It gets kinda lonely out here and I don't like silence."

"Really? I love to just come sit out here and listen to nothing, yet everything. It's so relaxing."

"Yeah, I guess. I just prefer conversation. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"I suppose. I mean I wouldn't want to keep you from a great conversation with me." She said and brushed her hair behind her shoulder.

"Thank you. So, what do you want to talk about?" He asked as he picked up another corn cob.

"You were the one that wanted to talk you know. I guess I could come up with something though. Um, how about…..where do you go to school?"

"University of North Carolina."

"Oh, really? What made you decide to go there?"

"Well, I really wanted to go to Duke for the longest time, but then it wasn't in the cards for me. So I figured what better way than to shove it to those Blue Devils than going to their rival school."

"Seriously?"

"No. I looked at both schools and compared the programs that they had for my major and the basketball teams, and just how comfortable I felt at each school and UNC was the obvious choice for me."

"Sounds pretty amazing. What's your major?"

"Sports management. I know, it is the typical 'jock' major right? But I feel like if I can do this and become recruiter or an agent then maybe I can help someone the way Whitey helped me."

"Wow, that is awesome. You've got it all figured out."

"No, but after two years there I was able to figure out what I wanted from those classes and that was it."

"You are going into your third year of college?" He nodded. "So you are 20?"

"Just turned 21 actually."

"Well happy late birthday!"

"Thanks." He smiled and laughed.

"Alright, you are almost done with those corn cobs and I feel like I already know a lot about you. Anything you want to ask about me?"

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Yeah, I think I know you pretty well now too. I mean based off how much your grandparents talk about you anyway."

"Oh really? And what do you know?"

"Well, you're name is Haley James. You are from a small town in Central California. You are 17, and you just graduated from high school. In the fall you are going to be a literature major at Harvard. You love macaroni and cheese. And finally, you're single." He said, smirking after his last sentence.

"How did you know I am single?"

"Oh, your grandmother made sure to 'subtly' mention it quite a few times." He laughed.

"Note to self, Grams tends to over share." She said and hung her head in her hands. "Sorry about her by the way."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, she's just looking out for you." He said and stood up. He reached down and offered her his hand to help her to her feet. As soon as she was standing he bent down and picked up the basket of corn. "Also, how fun would it be to watch a 'sweaty shirtless man' work if you weren't single?" He asked over his shoulder as he led the way back to the house.

She began to blush and looked at her grandma who was watching them from the window. After quickly shaking her head and jogging to catch up to Nathan she decided that stressing over it was pointless and she was just going to enjoy being here in her second and favorite home.

"Well, I guess I should get going now." Nathan said as he stood up. "My boss is really strict and he expects me to be working at the crack of dawn." He smiled and Whitey just rolled his eyes while trying to hide his smile. "Camilla, thank you so much for dinner. It was amazing, as usual."

"You're welcome Nathan. Thank you for staying. Drive home safely now and we will see you tomorrow morning." Camilla said and gave him a hug.

"We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow so don't be late." Whitey warned.

"Aw man, I had planned on sleeping in." Nathan joked and smiled at Whitey. "Alright, I will see you all tomorrow."

"I'll walk you out. I am heading up to bed now anyway." Haley said and Camilla nudged her husband in an 'I told you so' sort of way.

"Really? You that tired?" Nathan asked.

"Time change. It takes some getting used to." She explained as they started to walk toward the front of the house. She kept sneaking glances over at him and avoiding eye contact when he looked back. She hating when she got caught staring at people. When they reached the door she followed him out onto the porch.

"Well, it was very nice meeting you Haley James." Nathan said and turned to her.

"It was nice meeting you too Nathan." She smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you going to help out and lighten my load a little bit?"

"We'll see. You seem to have things down pretty well though."

"Well yeah, but company is nice."

"Oh, yeah, conversation is very important while working." She teased.

"Whatever sleeping beauty, go enjoy adapting to the East Coast time zone." He laughed and walked over to his car. Before he opened the door and stepped in he turned and waved with a big smile on his face.

She waved back and took in a deep breath of that humid country air that she loved so much. After getting back to her relaxed state she turned and walked back into the house, ready to get in a good night's sleep so that she could be awake and ready for the morning.

"Night Grandpa. Night Grams. I love you guys." She said and made her way up the stairs.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think...I should be updating again on Friday...<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Officially the longest chapter I have ever written! I am going to try to keep these long ones going, fingers crossed...anyway, really fun chapter. I hope you like it...**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Haley woke up the next morning and realized that it was still dark out. She looked over at the clock and noticed the bright red numbers flashing 4:45. Moaning, she rolled her eyes and pulled the blankets up around her neck. She was never one who liked to be the first one awake and she wasn't about to start now. She lay there for a few more minutes, trying desperately to fall back asleep, when she heard a noise outside her window. Curious as to what was going on, she got up from her bed and looked out the window. Strangely, she wasn't surprised when she saw Nathan's car pulling up the driveway, but what surprised her was the fact that she was then quickly dressing, leaving her room and heading to the kitchen.<p>

_What are you doing? You should be in bed!_ Haley thought as she walked into the kitchen. At that very moment, Nathan walked in the back door scratching his hair with his eyes half closed, about halfway through a yawn. _Oh, right, __**that**__ is why you are out of bed._ She thought and tried to hide her smile.

"Morning." She said, startling him. He looked up, shocked, but his expression slowly turned back into his half-asleep, relaxed one.

"Morning. What are you doing up? I'm usually the only one awake here for a few hours." He said and walked over to start the coffee pot.

"Yeah, time change again. Usually, by the second night I am used to the East Coast though. So by tomorrow morning you will be the only one awake again."

"I don't know, once you see what great company I am in the morning you just might set your alarm so that you wake up early to hang out with me." He smiled with half of his mouth and just about made Haley melt. She did her best to cover it up though.

"We'll see about that. So, since I am awake anyway, you want some help with your work load this morning?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Yes, but you didn't. I brought it up and I suggested it. Besides, if I don't help you than I will be beyond bored waiting for my grandparents to wake up so that I have someone to hang out with."

"Well I didn't say that you couldn't hang out with me. I am perfectly fine with you tagging along and keeping me company."

"C'mon, if I help you we will be done in half the time that it normally takes you." She pleaded with her best "sad puppy" expression. She could see him wearing down and did all she could not to smile until he said yes.

"You think you can keep up with my pace?"

"Dude, I've been working here every summer growing up. I'm sure I can beat you're pace." She challenged.

"We'll see about that."

"So you'll let me help?"

"I guess so. I mean I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"No, you don't."

"Ok, fine. So, how about a little bet?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, since you believe you are going to beat me, we could make a competition out of it."

"Ok, I'm in."

"Good, so when I win," he paused and laughed at her slight glare. "When I win, you have to wake up early with me every morning this week to keep me company."

"Ok, fine, but when I win you have to take me somewhere."

"Ok, Miss Vague, I would ask for you to specify but seeing as I am going to win, I don't really need you to give any more details."

She just stuck out her tongue at him and grabbed them some coffee mugs.

"Whatever, but I am one step ahead of you. I already finished my first task: make the coffee." He said and laughed.

"Oh, that is so not fair. C'mon, give me a list of the things I need to do, and don't give me all the hard stuff."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He smirked and began writing out the list. After it was all split up he handed the list over to Haley and she nodded her approval. "Alright, you ready for this?"

"Oh yeah, let's go." She smiled and quickly walked out the back door, leaving him to follow after her.

10 chores each and three and a half hours later they were just about done. Haley was picking strawberries and Nathan was chopping wood.

She looked over to see how much more wood he had left but was distracted when she saw that his shirt was off. It didn't help matters that he was all sweaty and so obviously built. It was extremely difficult for her to tear her eyes away.

"Cheater!" She mumbled under her breath and focused on the last strawberry plant that she had to cover. She picked all the good ones and stood up.

"Done!" Haley yelled and looked over to see Nathan swing the ax down on his last piece of wood. She made her way over to him, smiling the whole way. "So, um, I think I beat you."

"Yeah, yeah." He laughed. "Help me move this wood to the side of the house?"

"Sure." She said and placed her basket of strawberries on the ground so she could help him. She was too busy following behind him and staring at his back to notice that he had said something, so when he turned around she was stunned.

"Haley? You listening?"

"Huh?"

"I just asked where you wanted to go."

"Oh, right, I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you not know where you want me to take you?"

"Well, I don't really know where I would want to go. I mean specifically. I've never just gone somewhere here for absolutely no reason, you know?"

"No, I have no idea what you are talking about."

She sighed and laughed a little. "I mean, every time I am here I always tag along with my grandparents who need to go get something from the store, but I have never really gone anywhere here. I don't want to go to a store or a restaurant or a tourist-y place, I just want to go. My problem is I don't have a car, right now you are the solution to that problem."

"So you want me to take you somewhere, but that somewhere is nowhere?"

"Yeah." She said shyly.

"I think I know exactly the place."

"You do?"

"Yeah, we can go out there a little later. First, let's go in and have breakfast with your grandparents. I am starving and nothing beats Camilla's pancakes." He smiled.

She just laughed and followed him inside.

"Ah, Haley dear, there you are. We knocked on your door to let you know that breakfast was ready but figured that you slept through it." Camilla said.

"Sorry Grams, I was helping Nathan. We already finished today's work load." Haley said and looked over to see Nathan putting his t-shirt back on.

"Oh really? That's wonderful. How would you like to help me make some strawberry jam today?" Camilla asked.

"Grams that sounds great, but Nathan's taking me somewhere."

"Haley, you can help her out for a while. I mean we don't have to be there any time soon. Besides I kind of wanted to go home and get a few things done first."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go for it."

"Ok cool. Grams, are we going to make our treats again?"

"Oh, please do Haley Bob. That would make my day." Whitey said.

"Sure honey, we can make them." Camilla smiled.

"Yes! I have been craving those all year!" Haley said, practically jumping for joy.

"What are these treats you guys are talking about?" Nathan asked.

"Only the greatest things ever invented." Haley answered.

"Yeah, boy, you are missing out by not having had any." Whitey said.

"Don't worry Nate, I'll pack some for our little adventure. Then you can find out what they are."

"Ok, if you insist, but they can't beat these pancakes." Nathan said and motioned to the giant stack he had in front of him. Everyone just laughed and went back to eating their own breakfasts.

"You know Grams, I think that these are the best strawberries you have ever grown. Not that the rest weren't good. It's just that these are so sweet and juicy, but they still have that refreshing quality to them that makes them amazing." Haley said as she was slicing the strawberries into a pot.

"Don't I know it, your Grandfather keeps walking past me and grabbing some out of the bowl. If he doesn't stop we'll be filling our donuts with 'Essence of Whitey'." She laughed.

"Oh, I am so excited to make these donuts again. It has been so long since I last had one. Strawberry jam isn't the same from the store."

"Truer words have never been said." Camilla laughed. "Anyway, there is a reason that the strawberries are sweeter this year. We changed the crop a little to fit our new product. We are going to start making strawberry wine. What do you think?"

"I think that is brilliant and the sweetness of these strawberries will add some real flavor to it."

"Yeah, it was Nathan's idea. By the way, how do you know that strawberry wine will be good, my 17 year old granddaughter?"

"Oh, Grams, you know that Mom and Dad let me drink every now and then. In fact, mom told me that she was allowed to drink when she was 15."

"Ok, fine, but don't ever say that I didn't question you about this. I don't want anyone getting on my case."

"Ok Grams, I will blame it all on being raised in California if it ever comes up."

"That's all I ask." She smiled and began mashing the strawberries.

Haley started making the dough for the donuts and soon enough they had finished making the tasty little treats and covered them in powdered sugar.

"Hey Grams?"

"Yes dear?"

"Nathan's a good guy right?"

"Oh honey, I have known Nathan Scott since he was 15 years old. My goodness he was a scrawny little thing back then, but the boy could play basketball like no other. I remember the first time I saw him, it was during practice and he was the only freshman on the varsity team. He had just shot a three-pointer when I walked in and he smiled at me then turned to your grandfather and said 'Damn Whitey, she is way out of your league.' Then he came over and shook my hand and introduced himself. He has never been anything but kind and charming."

"Good, it's nice to see that some boys have manners."

"Well he certainly has those. Plus he has definitely outgrown that awkward scrawny phase."

"So true." Haley said and flashed back to him chopping wood that morning.

"Oh, and don't think I didn't notice him showing off for you this morning."

"I'm sure you don't know what you are talking about."

"Haley Bob, I may be old but I can still tell when a boy is trying to show off for a girl. He doesn't work shirtless around here very often, you know."

"Grams, he was chopping wood. It was probably getting hot wearing the shirt."

"It was 8:00. It wasn't hot outside."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself Grams."

"Ok. So where are you kids headed anyway?"

"I don't really know. He said he knows somewhere that we can go."

"Well you have fun. You should probably go get changed, he should be back any minute."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Nothing dear, just you have jam and powdered sugar all over it."

Haley looked down and realized that she looked like a bakery had exploded on her. "I guess you are right, I'll be back." So she quickly made her way up to her room to change and straighten herself out a little. After giving her wardrobe a once over, she decided it was best to go simple so she grabbed a pair of jean shorts, a plain, blue tank top, and her favorite pair of converse. Once she was dressed, she headed into the bathroom to see if she looked ok and ended up being happy she did. There was a huge powdered sugar mark on her cheek and her hair was a mess. Hearing the front door opening accompanied by the sound of Nathan's voice, she decided to just pull her hair up into a ponytail and put on some chap stick before rushing down the stairs.

"Nate, while you're waiting for Haley Bob, how about you join me? ESPN Classics is showing the greatest NBA games of the 90's." Whitey suggested.

"No need Grandpa, I'm ready." Haley said, walking into the living room. They both looked over at her, smiling, but it appeared that they were trying to hide their laughter. "What?" She asked, confused.

"You've got something on your face." Nathan said and pointed to his cheek.

Haley looked over at the mirror hanging in the hallway and saw that she forgot about the powdered sugar on her face. "Oh, haha, that. Woops." She said and began wiping at it. Once it was gone she turned to them again. "Alright, all good. I just have to grab something from the kitchen and we can head out."

"Sounds good." Nathan said and followed her to the kitchen where Camilla was still hard at work jarring her jams. "Camilla, even covered in strawberries you are still out of Whitey's league." Nathan said and smiled at her.

"Thank you dear. Now promise me you will take good care of my granddaughter and watch out for her today." She smiled back.

"I promise."

"Good, ok you can go now. Have fun you two."

"Thanks Grams, see you later." Haley said and grabbed her bag of treats off the table.

Once they were on the road Haley rolled her window down and rested her elbow on the sill as she enjoyed the feel of the wind rushing around her and blowing through her hair. Nathan looked over and smiled at how comfortable she looked.

"So do I get to find out what these treats are yet?" He asked, trying to peek into the bag.

"Not quite yet. They are kind of messy so trying to eat them while driving would be a mistake." She laughed and snatched the bag away from him.

"That's fine. I guess I will just have to wait until we get there."

"Yep." She smiled. "So, where is 'there' exactly?"

"You will have to wait and see."

"What? Why?"

"You are the one who wanted to go somewhere non-specific. If I told you in advance then you would know where we are going and that place would become specific."

"So you aren't going to tell me?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Even if I told you what those treats are?"

"Nope." He smirked. "Just relax. We are almost there."

"Ok, fine. Can we play a car game?"

"What kind of car game can you play out on the back roads where there are hardly any signs and nobody out on the road?"

"Good point." She smiled over at him.

He looked over and smiled back at her before leaning forward to turn on the radio. All that came through was static so he opened up a compartment with CDs and looked over at her. "Take your pick."

"Are you sure? It's your car."

"Really? I thought I just stole it." He joked. "Yes, I'm sure, just pick something."

"If you insist." She said and started looking through the CDs. "Wow, you really have some collection here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you have everything from Eminem to George Strait in here. Wait- is that?"

"What?"

"Do you have a Taylor Swift CD in here?" She asked, holding up the CD and smiling.

"I- uh- It was a gag gift from my brother. He thought he was being funny. I haven't listened to it."

"Oh, whatever, then why is it open? Doesn't matter, we are listening to it now." She laughed triumphantly as she put it in the CD player.

"First you make me take you somewhere, then you make me listen to Taylor Swift? What have I gotten myself into?"

"Just wait buddy, the best times have yet to come."

"I don't doubt that." He mumbled as he took a random turn onto yet another back road.

"You sure you know where you are going? It seems to me that we are just doing an increasingly good job at getting lost."

"Oh, I thought that was the plan."

"You are just full of funny aren't you?"

"Finally, you noticed." He smirked. "Yes, I know where we are going. Just one more turn and we will be there."

"Good, I can't wait." Haley said. The opening chords to _Sparks Fly_ came through the speakers and she immediately perked up. "Oh, I love this song!"

He just looked over and laughed at the sight of her singing and dancing along to the random Taylor Swift song.

She noticed him laughing and just made her moves more obvious and crazy, causing him to laugh even more.

"Jealous?" She asked.

"So, so very jealous."

"You know you can't move like this." She laughed.

"True. I cannot move like that." He said. "And you don't have to either because, guess what? We are here."

Haley stopped smiling at him and looked forward. She was now face to face with a deserted field that had this one big oak tree directly in the middle that was casting this huge shadow onto the ground. It was the second most beautiful view she had ever seen.

"Wow." She said as she got out of his now parked car. "This view is amazing."

"It really is." He said, now walking right next to her as they ventured further onto the empty field.

"How did you find it?"

"I was just out driving one day. Maybe I was looking for nothing, maybe I was trying to get lost, I don't know, and I just found it. When I came across it there were weeds about six feet tall and bits of trash all over. It took me forever to find it again, but once I did I knew that I was going to make it mine, so I did."

"This is yours? As in, you own it?"

"Yeah. After my grandparents died I inherited a little bit of money from them, it all went here."

"Why did you buy this and not pay off your college bills?"

"This just seemed like the right thing to do. My grandparents were big on finding that one thing that makes you happy and feels right and making sure that either it comes to you or you find a way to get to it. That's what I did."

"So, what do you plan to do with it? I mean is it going to just stay like this or are you going to change it?"

"I don't know. I can see building a house and living out here, but at the same time I don't want to ruin the peaceful, calm qualities I find out here just the way it is."

"I can see what you mean. I don't think I would want to change a thing about it. It is just so perfect the way it is."

"Nothing is perfect."

"I used to think that, but I come to a place like this, and I see nothing wrong with it."

He couldn't think of a good response so he just smiled at her and began walking forward. "C'mon, there's more."

"How can there be more?"

"Just come with me, please."

"Fine, I'm coming."

When she was next to him again he looked down at her and she could tell he was excited.

"You look like you are about to open all your Christmas presents." She laughed. "Are you this excited every time you bring someone out here?"

"So far, yeah."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, you are the first person I brought out here."

"Seriously? Nathan you barely know me."

"So what?"

"So, I'm sure that there is someone you know much better that you would rather share this with."

"Nah. I like sharing it with you." He smiled. "Ok, here it is." He said, leading her around the big oak tree. "Check this out."

When she got to where he was standing she was speechless.

"Pretty amazing, huh?" He asked.

There were about 20 carvings on the tree made by happy couples over the years. Haley swore she saw one from 1930.

"Are you kidding me? This is incredible!"

"Yeah, I would spend all my time out here if I could." He said, looking out onto the field.

"I'll bet. I would join you." She said absent-mindedly as she scanned over all the couples. "This view is probably amazing as the sun goes down."

"There's nothing like it."

"So, what, your girlfriend doesn't mind you taking me out here?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Well a guy like you has to have a girlfriend."

"What kind of guy is that, and why do I have to have one?"

"I just meant that, you know, a college guy that looks the way you do can't stay single for very long."

"Oh really? That's kind of stereotypical don't you think?"

"I'm just saying that hot, built guys tend to date girls who don't like them being friends with other girls."

"So, you've been checking me out then?" He asked, smirking.

"What? How did you get that out of what I said?"

"You called me a 'hot, built guy'. That means that you were checking me out this morning while I had my shirt off."

"I can neither confirm nor deny these accusations."

"Whatever you say, but you were so checking me out." He continued smirking.

"Ok, but you were the one with your shirt off at 8:00 in the morning while you were chopping wood. It wasn't hot out so you had an ulterior motive. Either you were trying to show off or you were trying to cheat. Which was it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Just tell me. Which one?"

"Nope, you are going to have to figure that one out for yourself."

"Fine, I'll drop it for now."

"Good." He smiled.

Haley continued to look over the carvings and just as she was about to stop she saw one that stood out to her.

"Nathan, come look at this."

"What?"

"Just look at this one here."

He came over and looked at the one that had caught her attention.

"Well, I'll be damned. Look at that." He said, smiling.

Right in front of them was the carving _**"Whitey and Camilla Forever….."**_

Haley took out her phone and took a picture.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to have a framed for them. This is a part of their history and I want them to be able to look at it any time they want."

"That's nice of you."

"Yeah, well….."

"Ok, so I've got an idea. How about we hang out here and watch the sun go down. Then we can head back. You in?"

"Definitely. Let me just go get our treats from the car. I'll be right back."

"Oh my god! These are amazing!" Nathan said as he took a huge bite out of his third donut.

"I told you. I have been making those with my Grandma since I was five. I only get them when I am here so I crave them almost all year." She said, smiling.

"Yeah, well you guys are going to have to make them more often."

"I'll think about it. What about you? Are there any amazing dishes you can make?"

"No, sadly I can't cook. I can make pop tarts, popcorn, frozen pizza, craft macaroni, cereal, you know stuff that comes from a box with easy instructions. My mom tried to teach me, but gave up when I nearly burnt the house down."

"Seriously?"

"There were flames involved anyway."

"What kind of fire are we talking? Like a candle got knocked over, small fire, or a flammable substance was placed next to an open flame, explosion type fire?"

"Nothing like that. I was just attempting to start the oven and I got distracted by a game on TV which led to me knocking a cereal box over onto the open flame and my mom to freak out. We were able to put it out quickly though, I think she just likes to joke at my expense."

Haley started laughing and couldn't stop herself.

"What? You think that's funny?"

"Oh, I think that's hilarious." She said and continued laughing.

He just looked over at her and shook his head. He reached into the bag of donuts and wiped his fingers along the edges, collecting quite a bit of powdered sugar, before pulling his hand back out and extending his hand to her face. She was still laughing so she didn't see his hand coming her way. Her laughter stopped when she felt his fingers trailing down her face. She opened her eyes just in time to see him place one finger on the tip of her nose and wipe off the remaining powdered sugar.

"See, now that's funny." He smiled.

"Not as funny as starting a fire with a cereal box." She countered.

He teasingly glared at her and looked down at his watch. "7:30, the sun should start setting any time now."

"Alright, time to get settled. Is there a perfect place to sit so we can get the best view possible?"

"Well, we can sit under the tree or I can bring my car closer and we can sit on the hood. Pick your poison."

"Hm, that is a tough one. I think I want to sit under the tree. It may be weird, but I have always wanted to sit under an oak tree."

"That is a little weird, but I mean everyone's got something weird that they like, right?"

"Right." She smiled and sat down with her back resting against the tree. Nathan came and sat next to her. She looked down and saw a patch of little purple wildflowers growing next to her. Without even thinking about it, she reached down and picked one. "So, what's your weird thing?"

"I love peanut butter."

"What?" She laughed.

"Yep, smooth, chunky, I don't care. Peanut butter is good."

"Ok, but that wasn't really what I meant. Besides, peanut butter isn't weird."

"True, what kind of answer were you looking for then?"

"I don't know. I guess, if you had one hour to live, what would be the one thing you would want to do regardless of what anyone else says."

"I would…get one of those donuts you made and dip it in peanut butter." He said and she gave him a slightly stern look.

"C'mon, I'm serious."

"I know you are, but look, if I only had one hour to live I would want to spend it with the people I care about, not out doing something stupid and meaningless."

Once again, Nathan Scott just about made her melt right where she was. "That is really sweet, and too good of an answer for me to argue with it." He smiled back at her and leaned further back against the tree.

"Ok, new question, if you had to pick one person to be stranded on an island with, who would it be?"She asked.

"You are really big on these hypothetical situations, aren't you? Ok, anyone?"

"Anyone." She answered.

"Hmmm, let's see….you."

"What? Nathan, you can't pick me."

"Sure I can, you said anyone."

"Well, yeah I said that, but it should be someone you are close too."

"We are close." He said, pointing the lack of space between them.

"Very funny, but pick someone else."

"No, I'm serious. The person that I am closest to is my brother, but I could not be stranded on a deserted island with him for very long. Plus he isn't as nice to look at. Look, you are easy to get along with, you are nice, you always keep conversations going, and you can make some amazing food."

She blushed and looked down. "Fine, I will accept your answer."

"Thank you, and hey if I am ever going to a deserted island I will hit you up." He smiled.

"Are you trying to be charming or does it just come naturally to you?"

"Oh, trust me, when I'm trying you will know." He smirked.

"Ok, why me? Why are you choosing to be this way around me when you have only known me for about 24 hours?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the flirting, the showing off, being charming and nice. Is it all an act, or is this real?"

"It's not an act, and I guess I am acting like this because I feel like I have known you longer. You are sweet, funny, and your grandparents couldn't love you any more than they already do. You are different from everyone I have ever met. So, I choose to be this way around you because I want to get to know you better, but from the start I knew that I didn't just want to be your friend."

"So, what, this is love at first sight for you?"

"Something like that, although love is a very strong word. How about 'like at first sight'?"

She giggled and looked back in front of her toward the sunset. "We'll see where it goes." She smiled and turned to look at him when he took her hand and laced her fingers through his. "You can wipe that goofy smile off of your face now."

"Nah, I don't think I can do that." He said, smiling even bigger and rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

_**Three hours later **_

Nathan's car pulled up the Durham's driveway as he was getting ready to drop Haley off after their little adventure. At some point during their night, Nathan had taken his jacket off and placed it on her shoulders.

"Thanks for tonight." She said and smiled at him. "I had a lot of fun, and I love your field."

"You're welcome and anytime you want to go back, just let me know."

"I will." She smiled and leaned across the seat toward him. She went to kiss his cheek, but misjudged the distance and ended up getting the side of his mouth. Her lips separated slightly and she backed away just a fraction of an inch as he turned to look at her. Their eyes locked and she smiled shyly up at him. He smiled back and reached one hand up to her cheek, gently leading her face back to his. Ever so lightly he pressed his lips to hers and slowly separated his lips to match hers. After a smooth, gentle, yet warm kiss she pulled away with a smile that echoed the one on his face. "Bye Nathan." She said and got out of the car, still wearing his jacket.

"I'll see you tomorrow Haley." He said, still smiling, waiting for her to be all the way inside the house before driving off.

The next morning, Nathan walked into the Durham's house still half asleep, but this time he had that goofy grin across his face that he couldn't seem to get rid of whenever Haley was near. It took him a minute to realize that the kitchen light was on as it had been the day before. He walked in to see a plate of donuts out on the counter and Haley grabbing a carton of milk out of the refrigerator.

"I thought you would be used to the East Coast times by now?" He asked.

"I am." She smiled.

"Then why are you up? I lost the bet, so you don't have to wake up early with me anymore."

"Well, I just thought you would like some company. I can go back up to bed though, if that's what you want." She teased.

"I don't see a point in that. I mean you are dressed already."

"Very true, and I already made my bed so I wouldn't want to get back in it." She smiled.

"So, in that case I guess I wouldn't mind the company."

"Good, because I call dibs on using the riding lawn mower today!" She said and ran out the back door, waiting for him to chase after her.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think! I will update again on either Monday or Tuesday...<strong>

**Have a good weekend :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I decided to put the chapter up today in honor of James Lafferty's birthday! I felt that it would be appropriate, right? Anyway, Nathan and Haley's relationship is developing and growing. I hope that you like the chapter and I am extremely grateful to those of you who read and review...you are all wonderful, thanks.**

**Oh, and can I just quickly vent over my anger and frustration that not only will OTH not be coming back until January, but also that it will only be 13 episodes and that Nathan will only be in half of them. I really hope that they end it well. I love the show, but I honestly feel like it maybe should have ended after the season 6 finale. Not that I haven't enjoyed the last two seasons, just that I think it would have been an amazing series finale. I am interested to see what they are going to do in the 9th season though, I heard Chris Keller was coming back...**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"You have nice hands." Haley said randomly as she and Nathan sat on the back porch swing, holding hands and looking out at the fields. Her legs were on his lap and she was laying back. They had been spending most of their time together since they went to his field four days ago and every day they got more comfortable with each other.<p>

"Thank you?" He laughed.

"I'm serious."

"Ok. I don't know exactly how to respond to that."

"I don't know, I guess thank you was appropriate."

"Ok, then, thank you." He smiled.

"You're welcome." She smiled back and started aimlessly dragging her fingertips over his palm. "I mean they are just so soft, yet tough. Like, I can tell that you work with them, yet they are so gentle, but at the same time strong. Also, they are the perfect size."

"Well, I'm glad you like them." He joked.

"Good, I know that you worked hard to get them just right for me."

"It's true. No one could ever beat my commitment."

"Oh, I'm sure." She smiled. The comfortable silence returned to them as they looked at each other, smiling.

"Well, don't you kids just look adorable?" Camilla said as she walked out onto the porch with a tray of cookies in her hands.

"Hey Grams, what's up?" Haley asked, smiling at her grandmother.

"Nothing, I was just baking some cookies and figured that you two might like some." Camilla responded, winking at Nathan.

"Oh you know I can't turn down your cookies Camilla." He said and grabbed the tray from her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but don't eat too much I am working on dinner."

"We won't Grams, I promise." Haley said and gave Nathan a pointed look as Camilla walked back inside.

"What?" He asked.

"You put her up to that, didn't you?"

"Put her up to what?"

"Making cookies. I saw you go in there earlier and talk to her."

"I would never do something like that."

"Just yesterday you came up to me and asked me to make you a sandwich." She told him, disbelievingly.

"That's different, you're my girlfriend."

"What is that supposed to mean? That you can boss me around, but not my grandmother?"

"No! That is not what I meant. Besides, I was just joking yesterday, and I believe that your response was 'make your own sandwich'."

"Well, yeah, I wasn't going to make you a sandwich."

"Ok, well it doesn't matter because I wasn't really asking anyway. Now, let's have some of these amazing cookies that your grandmother _offered _to make which I gratefully accepted." He smiled and held the tray closer to her.

"Nice save." She said and took a cookie. They would have these little arguments every so often, but for some reason it didn't bother them. Haley liked that she felt comfortable enough with him to actually get mad or annoyed without having to hold it against him. Plus, it kept things interesting. No one has a perfect relationship where nothing is done wrong or in a way that hurts the other and Nathan and Haley aren't the exception to that rule. Even when these little arguments come up, they bounce right back and are on a completely different conversation.

"So, last night I was watching tv and I saw this commercial for a movie night in the park. You wanna go?"

"With you?"

"No, with your grandparents."

"Ok, good because if you were going to say with you then I was going to be like 'Um, no but-'" She was cut off by his lips on hers. This kiss was quick and rough, but it still had that gentle-feel to it that Nathan always seemed to have with her and Haley loved it. This wasn't the first time that he had cut her off by kissing her. He seemed to have a thing for these rude interruptions and Haley pretended to hate them at first but quickly gave up the fight. He pulled away and mockingly glared at her.

"Yes, with me but since you were messing with me I might go with your grandparents instead."

"Oh, well don't let me get in the way of you enjoying your night." She joked. "I'm sure Grams would let you kiss her at the end of the night too. Besides, I am a very busy person. I may be busy that night." She smiled.

"Ok, I love Camilla but I will let Whitey handle kissing her. There is someone else that I would rather kiss at the end of the night." He said and pulled her up from her reclined position so that she was face to face with him.

"Oh really?" She asked, her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "Who would that be?"

Nathan leaned in even closer and looked directly into her eyes before smiling. "You don't know her." He joked.

Her joking demeanor quickly faded and she laughed and pushed at his chest. "Shut up!"

"I'm just kidding." He laughed and pulled her back into his embrace. "You know that you're the only one I want to be kissing."

"As cheesy as that was, I kind of like the sound of it." She smiled.

"Yeah?" He asked, smirking with one eyebrow up. "You want me to say it again?" He asked, his voice suddenly huskier.

She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "I want you to show me."

"Well I can do that." He smirked and leaned closer. As soon as their faces were close enough he closed the distance and captured her lips. He felt her smiling into the kiss and decided that he would give her more of a reason to smile. He took her bottom lip between his and gently sucked on it before grazing his teeth against it. The soft moans that came from her throat made him realize just how much she was enjoying their little make out session. He moved her back a little so that they could get into a more comfortable position, but in doing so he knocked over the tray of cookies. They both pulled away and looked at each other sheepishly.

"I guess we got a little carried away there." She smiled and got off his lap to begin cleaning up the mess of cookies all over the porch.

"Just a little." He agreed and stood up to help her. "But it was fun." He smirked.

"Yeah, it was. However, my grandparents were just inside the house and they could have walked out on us at anytime during that 'fun'."

"True, but that keeps things exciting. Doesn't it?"

"Eh."

"Really, you're bored of me already? It's been, what, a week?"

"Not even."

"Not even a week, and you are already bored of me."

"It had to happen eventually." She smiled and walked toward the door with the tray off floor cookies. She set it on the counter right inside the door and turned to look back at him, standing there and trying to look hurt. She smiled at him and crossed the patio, leaning up to kiss him. This time she was the one to deepen it by tracing his lips with her tongue. He granted her access and she dove right in there, trying desperately to memorize his mouth. When she moaned and he groaned at the same time, they broke apart smiling and laughing. He leaned his forehead against hers and wrapped his arms around her lower back. "Hey, after dinner, stick around for a little while. There's something I want to show you." She smiled.

"I don't know, I mean I have to wake up early tomorrow." He trailed on, smiling and trying not to laugh. "Yeah, of course I'll stick around."

"Thank you." She said and grabbed one of his hands that was behind her back in her hand and turned around to lead him into the house. They were in a kind of awkward position though with his one arm still wrapped around her waist, holding her back against his chest, and the hand that she was holding resting on her shoulder. It made walking a little difficult for him but he didn't care too much.

"Well would you look at the two of you," Camilla said as they walked into the kitchen. "You look like you are about to pull off some crazy dance move or something. Hey, have you seen that movie with Patrick Swayze and that lady who was on 'Dancing with the Stars'? 'Something Dancing' it started with a 'd'. 'Dizzy Dancing'?"

"'Dirty Dancing' Grams." Haley said.

"That's it. That is a good movie, you two should do that routine that they do at the end of the movie."

"I don't know about that Camilla, my dancing moves are pretty limited to nodding my head as I remain seated." Nathan said, grimacing at the thought of dancing.

"Nonsense, we'll have you dancing in no time." She said, waving her hand.

"I haven't even seen this movie. How do I know that this dance isn't really lame?" He asked.

"First of all, because it is in one of the greatest movies of all time." Haley said looking up at him, then dropping her voice. "Also, did you fail to hear that it is called '_Dirty _Dancing'?"

He raised his eyebrows and smirked at her.

"Oh, I know, we can watch it while we eat dinner." Camilla said excitedly.

"What are you forcing us to watch now, dear?" Whitey asked as he came into the room. He looked over and saw Nathan and Haley standing there in the same position as they had been earlier. "Nathan, stop groping my granddaughter."

"Sorry Whitey." He said and dropped his hand from her waist, stepping to the side of her but keeping his hand intertwined with hers, resting it on her shoulder.

"Grams wants us to watch 'Dirty Dancing' while we eat dinner grandpa." Haley explained.

"She does, does she? Well, uh I have to go eat outside, you know to make sure it doesn't rain on the crops." Whitey said, slowly inching toward the back door.

"Brian Durham, there is no chance of rain outside today and even if there were a little water never hurt anything. So go sit in by the TV with the kids and wait for dinner to be done." Camilla said, pointing to the living room.

"But why do we have to watch that movie?" He asked.

"Because when Nathan was 'groping' Haley they looked like the couple in the movie." Camilla explained.

"So, because they were looking cute and lovey you decided to make us all suffer?" Whitey asked.

"Not 'all', just you." She smiled.

"Grandpa, just relax. The movie isn't that bad and besides we will probably talk through most of it anyway, so chill out." Haley said.

"No one puts Baby in the corner." Camilla said.

"Nice reference Grams." Haley smiled and started to walk with Nathan to the living room. "C'mon Grandpa, let's go set the movie up." She smiled.

An hour and a half later the movie was over. At several points Camilla commented and pointed out dance moves that she wanted Nathan and Haley to learn, and at one part she even pulled him up and tried to teach him to dance. It gave everyone a good laugh, but Haley quickly swooped in to rescue him and dragged him back to the sofa.

"Well, that was quite the movie." Nathan said. He didn't think it was terrible, but it wasn't really his kind of thing. He was more of an inspirational sports movie guy, or occasionally a good action movie, but random '80's chick flick didn't really fit that quota.

"See, I told you." Camilla said. "Now we just need you two to put on a little show for us and I will forget all about the movie."

"We'll see Grams." Haley said and stood up. "Um, we're going to take a walk. See you guys in the morning." She said and hugged both of her grandparents before once again taking Nathan's hand and walking out the back door.

"So we're going on a walk now?" He asked once they were outside.

"Well, kind of." She said and looked around the porch for the flash light she knew was there.

"Kind of? How do you kind of go for a walk?" He laughed.

"We will be using our legs to walk out to the barn, but after that we won't really be needing to use them."

"Interesting. Can I guess what we are going to be doing?"

"Guess away, that doesn't mean I will be telling you anything."

"Ok, so what could we be doing that involves you 'showing me something' and not using our legs?" He asked, smirking.

"Aha! Found it." She said and turned the flash light on, pointing it at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Hey, I don't know what you are talking about I was just stating what I already know. Maybe if you gave me another clue it would be easier to guess."

"Not going to happen. Just know that it is one of my favorite things to do." She smiled and began walking toward the barn with him in tow.

"I'll remember that." He said and waited for her to open the barn door before following her inside. She dropped his hand and went to grab a set of keys that was hanging on the wall. "What are you doing?"

"Just follow me." She said and walked over to an object covered in a sheet. As she pulled the sheet back she revealed a riding lawn mower and got on. Nathan just stood there looking at her, confused as to what was going on. "Hop on." She said and he slowly complied.

"So you have a secret hobby where you go drag race your grandfather's lawn mower?" He asked jokingly.

"Very funny and no. I just love to drive these and it is going to take us to our next destination."

"Oh, we have a destination. It sounds so official." He joked and smiled at her.

"Yep, now hold on tight because I don't need you falling off." She said and waited until she felt his arms wrap around her waist to take off. She never could control her speed while driving one of these, luckily they didn't go very fast. She drove out of the barn and maneuvered her way around the crop fields until she reached the small section of man-made woods that her grandparents had made back when her mom was a little girl.

"You know, I've never actually been out here." Nathan said.

"Really? I come out here all the time. There is something so peaceful about wandering around underneath the tall trees. I pretty much have this whole place memorized."

"Oh, good, I was afraid we would get lost." He joked.

"Nah, just stay with me and we will always know where we are." She smiled as she drove through the massive trees.

"So, where are we going Smokey?"

"Smokey?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, you know Smokey the bear. 'Only you can prevent forest fires!'" He quoted and she looked at him like he was crazy. "Oh, c'mon please tell me that you remember Smokey the bear."

"Sorry, no."

"Oh, well you were a seriously deprived child. He was like a park ranger that taught kids how not to start fires in the woods. It's like the first thing kids learn when they go camping." He explained, shocked that she didn't know who he was.

"See, there is my problem, my family never went camping. My parents are what you'd call indoors-y."

"Hm, well we are going to go camping sometime. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." She smiled and quickly turned the mower. She pulled up to an opening in the woods that appeared to be a circle of grass in the middle of all the trees. There was a stream of moonlight shining through and it looked absolutely untouched. "This is my favorite spot in the whole world. I found it about four years ago while wandering around out here. I try to come out here and watch the stars at least once a week. In about 10 minutes the fireflies will come out and dance above us. Just wait, you'll see what I am talking about." She said and got off the mower. He followed her actions and watched as she pulled a blanket out of nowhere. After laying it down, she laid herself down on top of it and looked up at the sky. When she realized that he hadn't joined her, she looked over and smiled at him. "Don't just stand there. There is plenty of room for you down here."

"If you insist." He smiled and lay down next to her. "It is beautiful out here."

"Yeah, nothing beats it." She smiled.

"Nothing? I don't know about that." He said, looking over at her.

"Oh, well your field is a close second. Almost tied for first with the sundown." She said, still looking directly above her at the stars.

"Well, that's true too, but it's not what I was talking about." He said and took her hand in his. She looked over at him and stared right into his eyes.

"Wow, that was such a line." She laughed.

"Way to go and ruin a moment there Hales." He faked hurt and let go of her hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, honestly but with a big smile on her face. "That was pretty cheesy though."

"Yeah, well maybe I'm a cheesy guy."

"Really?"

"No, just when I'm with you. You should see me at school, people want to be me. That is how cool I am."

"I'm sure you are very cool, but nothing I have seen confirms that. You may want to step that up a little because I can only be seen dating cool guys."

"Oh yeah?" He asked and quickly flipped himself so he was hovering over her. He was leaning on one elbow with his face right next to hers. "Is this better for you?"

"It's getting there." She teased, playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

He leaned down even more and placed his mouth directly beneath her ear. "Better?"

"Almost cool." She whispered.

He began kissing her neck softly, travelling from her ear down to her collarbone, then he moved back to her shoulder and began leaving hot, open mouthed kisses there. "Am I cool yet?" He asked against her skin.

"Baby, you passed cool a long time ago." She smiled and pulled his lips up to hers. She felt him smirking in the kiss and before she knew what was happening he'd managed to flip them so that they were both sitting up and she was situated between his legs. She squealed and pulled his bottom lip between her teeth in response. She placed one more kiss on his lips before pulling away and looking up. Fireflies were now flying around above them and she couldn't be happier. "See, I told you! Fireflies!"

"I see, and you are right, they're awesome."

"You're awesome." She said and smiled up at him.

"I know, that's what I've been trying to tell you." He smirked and she just rolled her eyes.

"Can you believe that I just got here like five days ago?" Haley asked, turning around so her back was against his chest and her head was leaning on his shoulder.

"No, it already feels like a lifetime."

"Yeah, you sick of me yet?"

"Never." He smiled.

"Good, because I'm not going anywhere. Well, at least not until September."

"Yeah, but that is still months away. Let's just focus on now." He said and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I like that." She smiled and turned her head to the side to plant a small kiss on his adam's apple.

They sat there, wrapped up in each other, looking up at the stars for a long time. They didn't care what time it was or that they had responsibilities, all they cared about was being there, in that moment, together and enjoying every minute of it. Memories like this would be all they had at the end of the summer and they wanted them to be great. Eventually, they lay back down to look up at the stars and the fireflies and ended up falling asleep right there.

Nathan opened his eyes and saw a small gleam of sunshine coming from above him. He was about to jump up and race out the door of his apartment so that he could get to work when he noticed the girl laying next to him with her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. So instead, he gently shook her.  
>"Hales, baby, wake up." He said as he continued to try and pry her from her slumber.<p>

"Saturday, no school." She replied and nestled her face further into his chest.

"Actually, it's Thursday and," he paused to look at his watch "7:00. C'mon your grandparents have got to be awake now and wondering where you are." He said and that seemed to get her attention.

"Oh my god. We have to go!" She said and shot up. "Get up Nathan." She rushed as she tried to pull the blanket up from underneath him. He got up and tried to calm her, but it didn't work very well. "They are probably worried sick about me. I've never stayed out late before, and this is worse than late this is the next morning."

"Hey, calm down. They will understand, in fact they will probably make some joke about it. Besides it's not like we even left their property."

"Yeah, but they will be mad. They will see you with me and think that something happened. Oh no they probably already saw your car and think the worst. When we get back they are going to yell at you and you are going to get fired and I will never see you again and-" He cut her off with a quick kiss and pulled her over to the mower.

"Get on, let's go." He said and started the mower up as she got on behind him. He took off, speeding through the trees and quickly finding his way out of the woods. He expertly drove around the fields and pulled up right in front of the back porch where Camilla was watering some of her plants.

"Good morning you two." She smiled.

"Grams, I am so sorry. We were out watching the stars last night and we fell asleep. We just woke up, but we came back as fast as we could. Please don't fire Nathan."

"Haley Bob, I had no intention of firing Nathan. Besides we knew where you were. We haven't been able to keep you from going out to that spot for years and figured that is where you took him."

"So, you weren't worried?"

"Oh, sweetie, we are always a little worried about you, but we also know that you can take care of yourself." Camilla smiled and Haley walked over to hug her. "Now, Nathan, Whitey is out in the barn getting some stuff together for the day, why don't you go help him?"

"Sure thing Camilla." He said and winked at Haley as he walked away.

"What is going on today?" Haley asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Camilla smiled. "Your grandfather got us a spot at the local farmer's market. We go and sell strawberries, corn, jams, and now, for the first time, our wine."

"I thought wine was supposed to sit for like a really long time."

"Well, yeah, but this batch has been sitting for almost a year. Actually, if we go out there, I'm sure we could convince your grandfather to let us try it first. What do you think?"

"Let's do it." Haley said and linked her arm through her grandmother's as they walked out to the barn.

"Hey honey, we were wondering if we should taste test the wine first. You know, so we aren't selling anything disgusting." Camilla said and stuck her tongue out like she was tasting something really bitter.

"It won't taste disgusting." Whitey said.

"Just one little taste?" She asked, holding up her thumb and forefinger together to express the 'little'.

"Fine." He sighed and expertly opened up a bottle. He poured a small amount in four glasses and we each took one. "Ok, bottoms up." He said and tilted the glass toward his lips but was stopped by Camilla.

"What kind of toast was that? This is the first time we will all be drinking this, our own creation, together and all you have to say is bottoms up?" Camilla asked and he shrugged and shook his head.

"Ok, how about this." Nathan said. "We worked hard on this, it has been almost a year since the beginning when I called you with my brilliant idea you said 'Why the hell not?' I am proud of where we are today and I look forward to the future. Hopefully this doesn't suck." He said and raised his glass in the air.

"Hopefully this doesn't suck." Haley, Camilla, and Whitey all echoed before they all swirled their glasses and took a sip.

"Not bad." Nathan said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, I like it." Haley said. "Grams, grandpa?"

"I think it's really good. It's sweet and it's summery and I think it will go over well." Camilla said.

"Yeah, it's sellable." Whitey said. "Let's load everything into the truck." He said and Nathan nodded before setting his glass down and picking up a box.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower and get changed." Haley told Camilla.

"Ok dear, but hurry up we are leaving in about 30 minutes."

"Ok, I'll be ready in time." She smiled and walked out of the barn.

20 minutes later she was ready and making her way downstairs. She had decided to go simple with her hair down and air-drying, light natural make up, a pair of jean shorts, and flannel shirt open over a light camisole.

"Hey beautiful, I was just coming to get you." Nathan said as he closed the back door. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand. "You look nice." He said.

"Thanks. Did you change your shirt?" She asked, looking at the t-shirt that he was wearing, swearing that the one he was wearing earlier was green, while this one was dark blue.

"Yeah, I keep extras in my car in case one rips or I spill something on it."

"Well, you're just prepared for everything, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am, which makes it really nice to have me around at times."

"Well, Mr. Prepared, what do you say we get out of here?"

"I'd be happy to Smokey." He joked and they walked out to his car together.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think! :) Please...<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Ah the next chapter...exicting, I know. Haha so you all get a glimpse into the more emotional sides of our characters today. You get a taste of some past pain that Nathan has gone through, but you don't find out what it is yet, sorry. I would have liked to keep things light and fluffy for the whole story, but sadly that just doesn't work as well as I would like it too and it isn't very realistic. However, I feel that this chapter leaves them stronger than ever and sets them apart from the average summer romance. **

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"Haley Bob," Whitey said as he walked out the back door onto the porch where he knew Nathan and Haley were sitting. "Someone would like to talk to you." He said and winked at her as he handed her the phone. Nathan raised his eyebrows at her and watched as she took the phone and thanked her grandfather.<p>

"Hello?" She asked, curious as to who would be on the other end.

"Hello? You say that like you don't know who you are talking to. I mean we let you go off on your own and you forget all about us. I really feel the love."

"Sorry, Grandpa didn't tell me it was you. Hi mom." Haley said, smiling.

"And dad!" Her father interjected.

"Hi dad, are you guys on speaker?"

"Yes we are. Oh and there are several of our closest friends here too, so don't say anything embarrassing." Her mom said.

"I would never, you two do enough of that for me. Besides, I know that no one is there with you, it is far too quiet."

"This is true. I guess you caught us. So, tell us all about your trip. Are you having fun? Is grandma feeding you enough? Is your room the same? How is grandpa doing? Do you want to come home? Should we come get you?"

"Lydia, let the girl answer one question before you ask her 100 more." Jimmy said.

Haley laughed at them before getting around to answering. "Thanks dad. I am having so much fun, it is like 10 times better this year than it has been every other year." Haley said and watched as Nathan smirked and grabbed her hand.

"OH! Did you hear that Jimmy, our little girl met a boy!" Lydia exclaimed.

"She didn't say that." Jimmy said.

"Yes, but she didn't have to. I could tell by her tone of voice."

"What does that mean? She sounded happy, like she does every year. She is just enjoying her summer vacation."

"Like 10 times more than every other year." Lydia quoted Haley. "Besides, I seem to remember that I was so much happier at home when I met a certain brown eyed cowboy. Trust me, she met a boy."

"Whatever you say, dear."

Haley sat there, listening to her parents' conversation and chuckled lightly. They always did this. They would call, ask a bunch of questions, wait long enough for her to answer one, then move on to discussing her answer before asking more questions and repeating the cycle. She always waited them out and played along.

"Now, Haley, what's his name?"

"Who's name mom?" Haley asked and knew in that moment that both of her parents had rolled their eyes. Her dad because he was going to get bored with the conversation, and her mom because she knew Haley knew who she was talking about.

"You know who I am talking about Bob, your boy toy."

"Boy toy?" Haley asked and watched as Nathan's expression changed from calm to curious.

"Yeah, your boy toy, also known as man friend, lover, male companion, boyfriend."

"Don't listen to your mother sweetheart, she's crazy." Jimmy said.

"Hey, you married her." Haley countered.

"What was I thinking?" He sighed.

"Oh, you two shush. I swear that you are too alike. My goodness. Haley, I just want to hear about this guy that has got you so happy." Lydia said.

"I don't think I could help you with that right now Mom."

"Why not?"

"Because he is sitting right next to me." Haley said and smiled over at Nathan.

"He is? Even better, hand him the phone."

"Mom, I don't think that is such a good idea."

"Haley Bob James, hand your boyfriend the phone."

Haley sighed and extended the phone over to Nathan. "They want to talk to you." She said and looked at his slightly panicked expression, he quickly covered it up with his usual confident look though.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Ah, now that is the voice of a real man. Don't you think so Jimmy?"

He just grunted a response.

Nathan immediately found himself smiling. At first he had been a little afraid of talking to Haley's parents, seeing as they had only been dating for about three weeks now, but he could tell that they were fun, down to earth people after just a few seconds on the phone.

"Anyway, I am Lydia and my husband here is Jimmy. Say hi Jimmy."

"Hi. So, we hear that you are dating our little girl."

"Yes sir." Nathan replied.

"Jimmy, let me at least ask some simple questions before you get right into the interrogation." Lydia said.

"Fine, go right ahead. The more I know about him the better." Jimmy said, attempting to sound threatening and menacing.

"So, what is your name?"

"Nathan Scott, ma'am."

"Hm, Nathan…..I like it. Now, I can tell that you are polite, and I appreciate that, but don't keep adding ma'am and sir to the end of your sentences, please. I will go crazy."

"I'll remember that." He said, still smiling.

"Ok, next question. Where are you from?"

"Right here in Tree Hill."

"How old are you?"

"21."

"Ah, legal drinking age, good times." Lydia said and Nathan thought he heard Jimmy say 'good times' at the same time as her. "How tall are you?"

"What kind of question is that?" Jimmy asked.

"Relax Jimmy, this is a very important question."

"Oh, it is?"

"Yeah, it's like guys asking each other if their girlfriends have big boobs." Lydia explained and Nathan couldn't help but to laugh.

"I'm 6'2"." Nathan said and Haley smiled.

"Shoe size?" Lydia asked.

"Don't answer that Nate." Jimmy said. "Alright, Lydia, I will ask the questions now."

"Fine, but don't get down on me for wanting to know if he is right for Haley."

"I only have one question for you Nate. Do you like my daughter?"

"Very much, sir."

"That's all I needed to hear. See Lydia, it's not that hard. Nate, could you hand the phone back over to Haley please?"

"Sure thing. It was nice talking to you Mr. and Mrs. James."

"You too Nathan." They both said.

Haley took the phone back and leaned into Nathan's side.

"Hey Haley Bob, you got yourself a keeper there."

"Thanks dad." She smiled and looked up at Nathan. "I think so too."

"Good, he's tall and tall is good." Lydia said.

"Oh, I know." Haley said.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Lydia asked.

"He's working for Grandpa here on the farm."

"Really, you know your father worked on the farm for your grandfather one summer. Of course we were already dating at that point, but still. Best summer of my life."

'Nice to know mom."

"Ok sweetie, you know what's coming, speedy questions." Lydia said.

"I'm ready."

"Ok. Eyes?"

"Blue."

"Arms?"

"Perfect."

"Muscles?"

"Definitely."

"Clothes?"

"Not bad."

"Kisses?"

"Like no other."

"Personality?"

"Great."

"You are one lucky girl Haley Bob."

"I know mom."

"Ok sweetie, we'll let you get back to making out with Nate. Enjoy your day." Jimmy said.

"We love you."

"Love you too. Bye." Haley said and hung up the phone.

"They seem nice." Nathan said.

"Oh, they are, but they can be a little intense sometimes. Not in a bad way, but in a they don't know when to stop butting into other people's business sort of way."

"I can see that." Nathan smiled.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, they were just funny, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom asked me my shoe size." He laughed and she blushed.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry. I don't think that has happened before."

"Nah, it's cool. I would have answered, but your dad told me not to."

"Really, you just go around telling people your shoe size?" She asked, curious.

"Only if they ask. Besides, I'm not ashamed." He smirked. "14."

"God, you are so cocky."

"Yeah, but you like how confident I am. Admit it."

"Whatever." She said and stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I don't know. Away from you and your cockiness." She said and walked out into the fields.

He just shook his head and stayed where he was. "What did I do?" He asked himself and sighed.

"You didn't do anything son. You just have to learn that she is female, which means that she will do all kinds of things for absolutely no reason at all and you will get blamed for it. That's just how these things go." Whitey said and sat down next to him, handing him a beer.

"Thanks," Nathan said and took a sip. "I mean we've gotten in arguments before, but this time we didn't even argue."

"It's all part of being in a relationship. You'll get used to it. Just, never under any circumstances ask her if it is her time of the month. That is not a good idea."

"Speaking from experience?" Nathan asked, taking another sip.

"Sadly, yes. There was this one time when we were first dating and Camilla was particularly upset by everything I said and I just couldn't do anything right. Trying to figure out what was wrong, I asked her, and she didn't talk to me for about two days."

"Sounds tough. I'll have to remember not to ask her that."

"Smart move." Whitey said and they broke into a comfortable silence. Every so often one of them would tip their bottle back and take a sip, but mostly they just looked out into the yard. Nathan tried to see where Haley went off to, but he knew she was out wandering the small woods. "So, you got to talk to Haley's parents?"

"How'd you know that?"

"Well I figured once they found out that you were right next to Haley Bob, they would want to talk to you. My daughter puts up the front of being wild and crazy, but she is still fairly predictable and there is no one that she cares for more than her family. Plus, I may be old but I can still hear pretty well."

"Well, in that case, yeah I did get to talk with them for a little while. They seemed really nice, and I could tell that they loved Haley more than anything."

"Well, Haley and the rest of their kids."

"Rest of their kids? How many kids do they have?"

"Six, they have four girls and two boys. Haley is the youngest."

"That's pretty cool. I would have liked to have more brothers and sisters."

"You have Lucas." Whitey pointed out.

"That's true, and it was so great to have him while growing up, but I still feel like if we had a bigger family we would have been happier. You know my situation, what do you think?"

"Well, I think we all wish that some things in our lives could have gone differently, but I also think that we need to move forward and live in the moment. You can't dwell on the past and you can't change it either. Don't let what happened to your mother haunt you forever."

"Thanks Whitey." Nathan said and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Speaking of family, I have to go. When Haley gets back can you tell her that I had to leave." He said and got up to leave.

"Sure, do what you have to do." Whitey said. "Hey Nathan," he turned around, "I meant what I said. Don't let it take over you. You are happy, don't feel guilty for that."

Nathan just nodded and walked down the porch steps toward his car.

Haley came back to the house about 20 minutes later. There was really no suitable explanation for why she walked off, and she knew that, but something inside of her just needed to get away so she could be alone for a little bit. As much as she enjoyed spending her time with Nathan there comes a point when you just reach this place where everything your significant other does annoys you. She felt herself reaching that point and didn't want to get angry with him. So she left to avoid it.

As she neared the porch she noticed that Nathan's car was gone and immediately felt terrible. She didn't mean to be rude and cause him to feel bad, but apparently she drove him away. She stood there for a minute, watching for his car to come back down the driveway, but decided it wasn't going to happen and walked into the house.

Whitey heard the back door open and looked up to see Haley walk right past him. "Haley, Nathan had to go take care of some family stuff." He told her and listened as her footsteps continued to the stairs. "I don't know what is going on with that girl today." He shook his head.

Haley walked into her room and lay back on her bed. Staring up at the ceiling she began to think back over everything that had happened since she got there: meeting Nathan, spending the day with Nathan, going to Nathan's field, showing Nathan to her favorite place, hanging out with Nathan. It all added up to one thing, Nathan. She didn't know how she got to this place, where a guy was the most important thing in her life, but she knew that somewhere inside of her she liked it, and that thought alone scared her. Here was this guy, this perfect guy who meant so much to her, and in a little over a month and a half they would be going their separate ways. This then lead her to one question: Do I continue down this road with him and just let the chips fall where they may, or do I end things now and stop the impending heartbreak in its path? There was only one person that she knew she could get a straight answer from and she needed to call her, now.

Haley dialed the familiar number and waited through two rings before the line on the other end picked up.

"Hello?" Asked a particularly cheery voice.

"Oh, it is so good to hear your voice." Haley said. "I need help, fast."

"Hales? What do you need?"

"I have a bit of a situation going on and I knew that the one and only person I could call would be the Brooke Davis. So, what do you say best friend, can you help me out?"

"Let's hear the story."

"Ok, so I get to my grandparents' house and it is just like I remember, everything is the same and nothing has changed, well one thing has changed and that is my problem. There's this guy…"

"Oooh, now you've got my undivided attention."

"Nice to know." Haley laughed. "Anyway, so he is tall and gorgeous and wonderful and just like perfect. No problem there right? Wrong. Because now, I am falling for him and I can't do that because I am leaving in September, so is he, and it just wouldn't work long distance."

"Ok, first of all, is this just a crush or are the feelings mutual? Second, why wasn't I informed earlier?"

"Well, I hope it is mutual considering that he is currently my boyfriend, and I didn't tell you because I was too blissed out. I'm serious if you were here, you would understand and then you would throw a bucket of water on me and tell me to maintain control."

"Ok, well Hales, I don't really see a problem. You really like this guy and it seems like he really likes you too. Why not just wait until September and see where you guys are then?"

"That's what Nathan said. I understand why you would say that, but I don't want to get my heart broken. But, then on the other hand, I haven't been happier than when we are together. I mean he can drive me crazy, no doubt, but he is a really good kisser. I would love nothing more than to just continue this little fling we have going but I can sense the cloud of pain and sadness hovering over me when we are apart. It is foreshadowing my life and I don't like it."

"Hales, you and I know that you don't do flings. You are totally an in it to win girl, and that is one of the many things that we all love about you. You don't do anything halfway."

"I know Brooke, but what should I do? Help me." Haley said and walked over to her window. Just as she stood in front of it, she saw a flash of lightning cross the sky in the distance.

"I say that you go over to that boy's house and you talk with him. You will find your answer there, I promise."

"Thanks Brookie, I don't know what I would do without you."

"That is something you will never have to find out. I love you girly, now go get your man."

"I will, love you too." She said and put her phone down on her bed. Without thinking about picking it up and taking it with her, she rushed out of her room and down the stairs. "Grams, can I borrow the truck?" She asked, as she ran into the kitchen.

"Sure, Haley Bob, be careful. A big storm is coming." Camilla said and threw her the keys.

"I promise." Haley yelled as she ran out of the house. Right as she got to the truck it started pouring rain. She opened her door, got in, and quickly started the engine before taking off down the road.

After driving all over town in a downpour, she realized it was a lot harder to get to Nathan's apartment than she remembered. She had only been there a few times, but finding her way back was becoming increasingly difficult. Just when she was about to give up she saw the something familiar. The first time she had gone to his apartment, they were walking around downtown after eating lunch and he decided he wanted to show her his place.

_Flashback_

"_C'mon Hales, it is only a few more blocks." He said and started pulling her away from a store window._

"_Wait, Nathan, I've never been to your house before and I need to bring something. It would be rude if I didn't."_

"_Oh, well then I found you a loop hole because it isn't a house, it is an apartment. Therefore I won't feel offended in any way." He encouraged, but she wouldn't hear any of it._

"_I don't care. Just wait out here, I'll be right back." She said and walked into the store. 10 minutes later she came out with a small, potted plant in her hand. "Here you go." She smiled and extended it to him._

"_For me? How thoughtful." He joked. "And the best part is that I get to carry it all the way there."He said and started leading the way to his apartment._

"_Oh, how terrible for you."_

"_I guess I'll live, but I may need some sort of prize when we arrive."_

"_I'll see what I can do." She smiled and rolled her eyes playfully._

_About five minutes later, they arrived outside his building. "This is it."_

"_Very nice. Do you want your prize now, or would you like to wait until we get inside?" Haley asked and stood closer to him._

"_Now's good." He said and placed the plant on the railing of the stairway behind him. She took advantage immediately and began kissing him. After a few minutes they broke apart and headed into his apartment, leaving the plant right where it was._

Haley saw, out of the corner of her eye, that very same potted plant sitting on a railing next to the stairs. She pulled the truck into the parking lot, got out and ran through the pouring rain to the gate. She began buzzing Nathan's apartment repetitively, waiting for him to respond.

Nathan heard the buzzer for his apartment going off and got up of the couch. He wasn't expecting anyone and judging from the fact that they continued buzzing, he knew they weren't going away. Without answering the buzzer, he walked outside his apartment and realized it was raining before walking down the stairs of the outdoor corridor. Just as he got to the bottom flight he saw Haley standing outside the gate, drenched and waiting for him to answer.

"Haley? What are you doing here?" He asked as he opened the gate for her.

"I need to talk to you." She said, staying right where she was.

"Ok, why don't you come inside and we can talk." He suggested, still holding the gate open.

"I'd rather stay out here."

"Haley, it is pouring out here. We should be indoors right now." He said and a crack of thunder echoed his point.

"Fine." She said and followed him inside.

He opened his apartment door for her and shut it behind him. "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry for the way I acted this afternoon. I don't know what came over me and I'm sorry that you felt you had to leave. I just get kind of….weird, sometimes. But, then I had all this time to think and while that is normally a bad thing for me, I think that this time it was important. So, I realized that so far this summer has been all about us, which is great and I am happy, but then I remembered that this is supposed to be the summer I spend with my grandparents, you know? I feel like I have been cutting out my time with them to spend time with you, but at the same time I don't want to stop spending time with you. Then I think about how we are spending all of our time together and that scares me because I can feel myself falling for you and that just can't happen. I don't want to get my heart broken, so I only see one solution, and that is to end things now. That way, we don't get hurt." Haley said, and looked down at her hands, fiddling with them.

"No." Nathan responded.

"What?"

"You heard me, no." He crossed his arms over his chest. "First of all, I didn't feel like I had to leave this afternoon, I had family stuff to take care of. Second, I am having the greatest summer of my life and that is only because of you. Now if you want to spend more time with your grandparents, that is fine with me. I know how much they mean to you and I would never try to keep you from them, but I will not let you use them as an excuse to run from us. Because, guess what, I'm falling for you too and I will fight like hell to keep you in my life, even once September has come and past. You came into my life Haley James and you are not getting out that easily. Besides, even if we broke it off now, we would still both be hurting." He said and started walking toward her.

"I…..I have to go." Haley said and rushed past him and out his door. He chased after her, not bothering to close his door.

"Haley!" He yelled as she was about to turn the corner and leave his hallway. She stopped and turned around. "Please don't go." He said and she could see every emotion on his face. Instead of turning back around and leaving, she started running back toward him. Just as she was about to reach him, he stuck his arms out and picked her up over his head before slowly pulling her back down to him so they were face to face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face closer to hers.

"Don't break my heart." She whispered.

"Not a chance." He replied and leaned his forehead against hers before slowly capturing her lips with his own.

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><p><strong>As always, let me know what you think! :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update, last week was a really busy one for me and it was hard to enough time to write. I will do my best to update at least one more time this week. After that, I am going to be traveling a little bit and might not be able to update for a while. However, if the hotels have internet connection I will be able to. We'll just have to wait and see. I hope you all had a good week, if not here's another chapter to cheer you up. **

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Haley woke up halfway through the night to find herself in an unfamiliar room. She looked around and saw that Nathan was sleeping on the floor. He was face down with one arm thrown up above his head and the blanket thrown off to the side, revealing his perfectly shirtless body. She tossed her pillow at him and watched his reaction. He jumped a little and lifted his head to look over at her.<p>

"What are you doing down there?" She asked with a frown on her face.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"If I was uncomfortable, I would have just gone home in the first place instead of staying here over night."

"No, you wouldn't because I wouldn't let you drive in that weather again. It was bad enough that you did it to get over here in the first place. I would not let you risk your life, which is exactly what I told your grandparents when I called them earlier." He said, remaining in his spot on the floor.

"You called my grandparents?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want them worrying about you, and you worrying about them worrying. Plus, Whitey would kill me in the morning if he found out that you stayed here without them knowing."

"Thank you for doing that for me. It was really sweet." She smiled. "Now, get up here and keep me warm."

"I don't know, if Whitey found out…" He started.

"Nathan Scott, stop mentioning my grandfather and get up here!" She commanded.

He chuckled and grabbed his pillow. "Yes ma'am." He climbed on the bed behind her and pulled her to his chest. "Are you sure this is ok? Do you want me to put a shirt on?"

"Yes, I'm sure, and no do not go put a shirt on. This is good." She said and lay her head on his chest, lightly drawing circles there. He smirked and placed a light kiss on the top of her head.

"Did all of your family stuff go ok today?" She asked. They didn't talk much after reconciling in the hallway. There was a lot of cuddling, making out, keeping eye contact, and just being together, but not much talking.

Nathan began to think back to what had happened just a few hours earlier. "It went about as well as I expected it to."

_Flashback_

_Deborah Lee Scott_

_Beloved mother, sister, and friend._

_January 12, 1968- June 27, 2002_

_Nathan looked down at his mother's tombstone on the anniversary of her death. Nine years ago, today, she had been taken from her family by a drunk driver. Nathan and his twin brother Lucas were only 11 years old at the time. They had been sent to live with their Aunt Karen and Uncle Keith, which had been great, but they still missed having their mom around. _

"_Not surprised to see you here, Nate." Lucas said as he approached Nathan from behind. "You always were the first one to come visit."_

"_Hey Luke." Nathan turned around and hugged his brother. "How are you?"_

"_Well, besides the obvious, no complaints. You?"_

"_Same."_

"_You think she even knows that we come here every year? I mean we come and sit here for the same amount of time that we sat in the emergency room, and every year we expect him to show up, just to say that he's sorry and that he misses her, yet he never does. Why do we do this to ourselves?"_

"_We don't do this to see him. We do this for her, because we love her. We do this in spite of him." _

"_Just one more time, I would like to see his smug face and show him that he has nothing to live for, you know?"_

"_I know man, but that is no way to live your life. All of that hate and that anger will eat you up and ruin your life. We are too young to let it control us. I'll tell you one thing though, if I ever do see him again, I will make sure he never comes anywhere near either of us again."_

"_Right there with you man. Let's make a pact, if there comes a time that we ever see him again we let the other know and take care of the situation together. Otherwise, we forget about him and move on with our lives. Then when we come here, it will be purely for her and no one else."_

"_Yeah." Nathan said and nodded his head. "Deal."_

"_Alright. Let Dan have his world and his pitiful existence. We are better off without him around." Lucas agreed. "Hey, can I have a minute with mom?" _

"_Sure." Nathan said and went to stand by a tree not too far away. A few minutes later Luke came back over and stood next to him. _

"_We've got 10 more minutes. It's your turn." He said. _

_Nathan slowly walked back over to his mother's grave. This was always the hardest part for him, it reminded him of when he had to say goodbye to her lifeless body, lying in the hospital and covered in blood. That image was always floating around in his mind, but even worse was the image of coming back out of that hospital room and finding his father gone._

"_Hey mom. So, it's been another year, huh? I don't really know if you can hear me now or if you've ever heard anything I've said to you here, but I hope that you can. I want you to know that I am really happy. I miss you like crazy, but I am happy. I have a job working for two of the greatest people I could ever ask for, you remember Whitey, right? I am working really hard at school to be my best and graduate as soon as possible. I am going to make you proud, I promise. Oh, and I found a girl. She is amazing, and beautiful, and way too good for me I swear. You'd like her. Her name is Haley and she is from California. There is just something about her that draws you in and won't let you go. I am falling for her in every way possible, and I promise you that I will not give up on love. If this is the real thing, I will hold on to it, no matter what. I love you mom, I'll be back in a few weeks to bring you some fresh flowers." Nathan said and stood up. He placed his hand on top of the headstone and sighed before walking back over to Lucas. "Hey man, you want to go get some coffee or something? I feel like we haven't talked in a while. What's going on with you?"_

"_Um, can I get a rain check? I have somewhere I need to be." Lucas said and checked his watch. "I'll get back to you."_

"_Sure thing. See you around Luke." Nathan said as he watched Lucas wave and start walking toward his car. Nathan took one last glance at his mom's grave before following the steps his brother had previously taken. "Bye mom." He said and got in his car._

"Nathan? Are you ok? You were quiet for a couple minutes there." Haley said and looked up at his face that seemed to be a million miles away.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about some things." He gave her a half smile and she knew it was forced.

"Ok, well listen I understand that this might be something that you need to think through on your own, but just know that if you want to talk about it, I am here and I've been told I'm a pretty good listener."

He nodded his head. "Thanks Hales, that means a lot."

"You're welcome." She smiled and moved to get up.

"Where are you going?"

"To get a glass of water. I'll be right back." She said and walked toward the kitchen. She saw a light on and just assumed that Nathan had forgot to turn it off before coming to bed so she continued on her journey. When she reached the kitchen she found someone hunched over, searching through the fridge. "Who are you?" She asked, standing far enough away that they couldn't reach her but close enough that they could hear her.

The stranger grabbed a beer and stood up, revealing his 6 foot frame and sandy blonde hair. He appeared to be slightly drunk, so she kept up her cautious appearance. "I'm Lucas," He said and pointed at her "and _you_ are not Nathan. I don't think."

"No, I'm not." Haley said and watched as he started walking closer to her. "Hey Nathan, can you come here?" She yelled with a slight edge to her voice.

Nathan got up and slowly made his way from his bedroom to the kitchen with his eyes half closed. "Hales, I told you the glasses are in the second shelf from the sink." He said and looked up to find Haley standing across from what appeared to be a drunk Lucas. "Luke, what are you doing here man?"

"I…..I am taking my rain check." He said and pointed to the window. "I was sitting in the bar, and I looked out the window. I saw all the rain and I was like… 'HEY! Rain! Now is the perfect time for my rain check with my favorite brother.' So I called a cab and told them to go to Nathan's house. Can you believe that they didn't know where that was?" Lucas rambled on and took a large gulp of his beer.

"Wow, that really is a shocker." Nathan said and reached to take the beer away from him. "How many of these have you had tonight man?"

"Doesn't matter. You know why? I'll tell you….I saw him, man. He was standing outside a gas station. A gas station! What kind of ass just stands outside a gas station on the anniversary of his wife's death?" Lucas said and threw his hands up in the air before wandering over to the couch and plopping himself down.

Nathan gave Haley an apologetic look and grabbed a glass for her to get some water. "Hales, I hate to have to ask this, but can I have a few minutes alone with my brother?" Haley smiled and nodded.

"Take all the time you need." She said and filled her water glass up. "I'll be in bed." She walked over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks baby." He smiled and squeezed her hand before walking over to sit across from Lucas. "Ok, Luke, where exactly did you see Dan? And when?"

"Right after I left the cemetery. I was on my way to visit Aunt Karen and Uncle Keith, like I do every time I am in town, when I drove past the Shell station on Main Street and he was just standing next to his car, waiting for the tank to fill up like today was just another day." He said and threw his arms up in the air.

"Are you sure it was him? It has been nine years since we've seen him and driving by it could have just been a doppelganger."

"No, it was him. I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Ok, well, that's great that you're sure." Nathan said sarcastically. "There isn't much that we can do about it now though Luke."

"What are you talking about, we can go after him!"

"Are you kidding me? You saw him hours ago, it is freaking storming outside, and you are drunk off your ass. We are not going after our long lost father right now."

"Do you not care about mom at all?" Lucas stood up and yelled.

"How can you say that? You _know_ that I love mom and that I would do everything in my power to make this right, but we have no idea where he went or how to find him. So, I suggest that you sleep this off, and we will talk about it in the morning. You may want to shower too, you smell terrible."

Lucas stood up and started to walk toward the door, but Nathan raced past him and blocked his way.

"No way, you are not driving drunk especially in this weather. You get to sleep on my couch." He smirked and pointed. "Go shower, I'll set up the couch for you and I will see you in the morning." Nathan said and watched as Lucas walked off toward his bathroom. He saw Lucas's keys sitting on the counter and took them with him to his bedroom after laying out a pillow and blanket and locking the front door. As soon as his door was closed, he let out a big sigh.

"You ok?" Haley asked quietly from his bed.

He smiled slightly at the sound of her voice and walked over to sit next to her. "I'll be fine. There's just a little family drama going on and apparently it's my job to fix it." He said and rolled his eyes. "It's all good though."

"You sure?" She asked and he nodded. "I mean I could go home, if it would make things easier."

"No, I want you to stay." He said and wrapped his arm around her. "But could we get my mind off this ridiculousness, please?"

"Sure, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could do something fun."

"Nathan, it is 2:30 in the morning, pitch black and storming outside, your brother is drunk and showering in your bathroom, what could we possibly do that is fun right now?"

"I could think of a few things." He smirked and she lightly hit his chest.

"No." She laughed.

"I was talking about watching tv or playing a game, geez get your mind out of the gutter Hales." He smiled and winked at her.

"Oh, whatever." She said and started to get up so she could grab the remote for the tv.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked and lightly grabbed her waist, pulling her back and beginning to tickle her sides. She started laughing and squirming beneath him, which only made him continue his attack on her and increase the width of his smile. After deciding that she had been tickled enough, he stopped, but remained laying above her, just looking down into her eyes. He took one hand and traced it up her side all the way up to her collarbone. He let it rest there and had his thumb lightly graze her jaw. He tilted her head up slightly and leaned down to kiss her. As their lips met it was soft and smooth, neither of them going any further, just enjoying being in each other's arms and knowing how they feel was enough for them. He pulled back and gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled back and ran her hands through his hair. He turned around and lay back with his arm out waiting for her to come lay next to him. She smiled and made her way up the bed until she was laying down on her side, curled up beside him. "You smell good." She said.

He laughed and closed his eyes. "Thanks." He smiled and slowly let his mind clear so he could drift off to sleep.

When Nathan woke up he turned to the side, expecting to find Haley there, but instead was met with the other side of his bed. He looked around his room, hoping to see her walking back from the bathroom or looking for her phone, but once again she was nowhere to be found. He had just about convinced himself that last night had just been a really elaborate dream when he smelt bacon cooking in the kitchen. Following his nose he walked out of his room, down the hall, and to the kitchen only to find Haley standing over the stove wearing one of his t-shrits with her now dry jeans and her hair tied back while his hung-over brother sat on a stool at the island with his face on the counter. He laughed and patted Lucas on the back before walking over next to Haley.

"Hey, need some help?" He asked and smiled as she turned around. He smirked as he saw her look appreciatively at his chest, as he was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts, and start blushing.

"Nah, I'm good here, but you can hand this to your brother. It should help." She said and handed him a glass of some sort of thick, purple liquid. "Don't ask." She replied when he gave her a weird look.

"Alright." He said and sighed before walking over to sit next to Lucas. "Hey, drink this." He said and Luke raised his head up just enough to look over at him and glare. Nathan started laughing, but tried his best to stifle it.

"Shhh!" Lucas said and put his hands over his ears.

"Dude, you have an imprint of like a triangle on your forehead. What did you do?" Lucas looked up and glared at him again. "Never mind that, seriously though, chef's orders, drink up." He pushed the drink over and Lucas looked at it skeptically.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter, drink up." Nathan said.

Lucas grabbed the glass and took a sip. He let it sit in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing, wiping his mouth, and nodding. "Not bad." He said and took another drink.

Haley then walked over with two plates in her hands. Each contained bacon, pancakes, and eggs, with a piece of toast on the side. She placed one in front of Nathan and one down on the other side of him before turning back toward the stove.

"Uh, Hales, Lucas is sitting on the other side of me." Nathan said.

"I know." She replied. "He isn't eating breakfast."

"C'mon Hales, I mean I know he came here drunk last night but we're both going through a bit of a tough time right now and that's just how he was dealing. You can't punish him for that."

Lucas finished another drink before looking up at her. "I second that." He said.

"I'm not punishing him." She said grabbed another plate that appeared to have a taco, some bagel bites, chocolate chip cookies, and a breakfast burrito on it. "This is for Lucas." She said and placed it in front of him. They both gave her confused looks and she sighed. "I have a lot of older siblings, and one of them, Mike, parties a lot. He taught me how to make a hang-over remedy. I thought that you might appreciate having this around this morning." She said and smiled.

"Thanks." He said and grabbed a bagel bite. As he continued to dig in, she walked around and took her seat next to Nathan.

"Wow, you really are amazing, aren't you?" Nathan asked, taking a bite out of a strip of bacon.

"I have my moments." She smiled. "By the way, I called my grandparents and let them know that you probably wouldn't be there today because some family stuff came up. They understand and said take all the time that you need. They'll put me to work until you are back."

"Ok, I know I have said this a lot lately, but thank you. I am so lucky to have you in my life." He smiled.

"It's true, he's like a completely different person around you. He's calm and collected and he thinks before he acts. He's like Nathan 2.0." Lucas said.

"You're just jealous." Nathan said. "We need to find you a girl, man. Maybe once you're in love you'll understand how I feel."

"What?" Haley asked, her fork hovering in front of her face, the eggs about to fall off of it.

"Hmm?" Nathan asked.

"Did—Did you just say in l-love?" Haley asked, shocked. She knew that she loved him, they'd been together for a little over a month, but she knew already. What shocked her the most was that apparently he felt it too.

"What's that? Hm, it looks like there is something I need to go get from your room." Lucas said and stood up with his plate in his hand. "Thanks for breakfast."

"Nathan?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said. "I did." He paused to gauge her reaction. She had a slight smile so he continued. "Look, Haley, I love you. I hope that doesn't freak you out too much, or scare you away, because what we have is real and I am going to hold onto it with everything that I've got. I know that this isn't what you were looking for when you came here for the summer, but I'm glad that I found you and I wouldn't trade this last month for anything. You make me happy, truly happy, which has been pretty difficult over the years, yet you make it look so easy. I guess what I am trying to say is I can be myself with you and know that you won't judge me. I love you, Hales, and I don't see that changing anytime soon."

"Oh, god, why are you so perfect?" Haley asked and leaned closer to him. She immediately captured his lips and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. When she felt his hands go to her waist, she pulled away for a second to push his plate out of the way. She pushed herself up onto the counter and sat in front of him. He smirked at her and she pulled his forehead to hers. When they were eye to eye she smiled at him. "I love you too."

He leaned in and kissed her with everything in him. Their lips battled for dominance, moving this way and that, as their mouths seemed to slow dance. Haley bit down on his bottom lip and in response he grabbed onto her legs and she wrapped them around his waist. He smirked into the kiss and gave her a small peck before moving his mouth to the spot below her ear. He began sucking and biting, doing all he could to leave his mark there. She tilted her head to the side, giving him better access, and played with his hair. He pulled away and smiled at her just long enough for her to lean down and begin kissing him again.

"Well, looks like she loves you too." Lucas said as he walked back into the kitchen. Haley pulled back and was about to move away, but Nathan held her in place. He gave her a look that told her she was fine where she was. "Congrats bro."

"Thanks. You seem to be feeling better." Nathan said.

"Yep, your lady love here is a miracle worker. If she didn't love you I would pay her to be my friend just to keep her around in times of need." He smiled.

"This 'lady love' has a name." Haley said and got off the counter, opting to stand next to Nathan instead. "It's Haley and I will happily be your friend, especially if you pay me. In that case I may even be your best friend." She winked.

"Sorry, that position has been filled." Nathan said proudly.

"Eh. Everyone can be replaced Nate." Lucas joked and stuck his hand out toward Haley. "It is very nice to meet you Haley. I'm Lucas and I would very much appreciate it if you forget all about the drunk/hung-over me."

"Nonsense, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't see anything that would make me think any less of you. Everyone has their off days." She smiled.

"Wow, Nate, you got yourself a good one here. I like her. Where did you say you met again?"

"She's Whitey's granddaughter." Nathan explained.

"You don't say. Huh, that's pretty cool. How is Whitey?"

"He's not too bad. Like I said, he needed some help on the farm so I am helping him out. He's actually relaxed a lot since he retired. Now he only yells at me like twice a day." Nathan joked.

"Speaking of, I have to head back out there. I told them I would be home before 10:00." Haley said and pointed to the flashing 9:30 on the oven.

"I'll walk you to your car." Nathan nodded and said. She smiled, grabbed her purse and accepted the hand that he offered to her. Just as they were about to reach for the doorknob, Lucas's voice stopped them.

"You know, I'd really like to see Whitey and get to talk to him for a while. Do you think it would be alright if I tag along?" He asked.

"Sure, I think that he would like to see you." Haley said.

"Actually, why don't you go ahead and we'll leave after you. I can get dressed and get some work done while they talk." Nathan suggested.

"Sounds good to me." She said and leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "See you soon. Bye Luke, it was nice to meet you." She said and waved before closing the door.

"You got some clothes I can borrow?" Lucas asked. "These smell like I was out wrestling a bear." He said, sniffing his t-shirt.

Nathan laughed and nodded, motioning for Lucas to follow him.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think, please!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok everyone, here is the next chapter. It is shorter than all the others and I am not all that thrilled with the way it turned out, but it works for now. I am sorry it is taking me so long to update and get chapters written, but because I am travelling it is difficult to find time to write and then later get online to actually post. I am doing my best for you though, all I ask is that you be patient with me and maybe that you review :D**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"About time you get your lazy butt to work." Whitey said from the back porch as Nathan came walking toward him. Haley had already been back for about 10 minutes and informed her grandfather that Nathan was on his way over, not that Lucas was joining him though.<p>

"Sorry Whitey, I found a stray puppy on the side of the road and couldn't leave him there. Can we keep him?" Nathan asked and looked to the side of the house over at Lucas. "He's kind of appealing in a pathetic sort of way."

"I resent that. I am much more adorable than a puppy and that is saying a lot because puppies are pretty freakin' cute." Lucas said. He looked over at Whitey who was chuckling and shaking his head. "Hi Whitey. Still training champions?"

"Uh, you don't want to know." He sighed. "Now get over here boy. We'll catch up while your knucklehead of a brother catches up on the work he's been skipping out on."

"Ha ha..Have fun Nate, and don't forget to put 110 percent into everything you do." Lucas laughed and walked closer to his old coach.

"Oh, whatever I'm late today because of your drunk ass so just shut it." Nathan said and glared at Lucas.

"I'm not just talking about today Nathan, you've been cutting out early so you can play lookey loo with my granddaughter." Whitey pointed out.

"Cutting out early, or finishing up earlier than I used to? I think it's the later. You know, I think she increases my productivity because she's just that amazing. I'm just saying." Nathan said and started walking out toward the barn.

"I guess we'll have to keep her around then." Whitey yelled after him.

Nathan turned around and smiled at him. "Works for me."

Whitey sighed and shook his head. "That boy sure knows how to drive me crazy."

"He always has." Lucas said. "It's good to see you Whitey."

"You too Luke, but why do I get the feeling that this isn't strictly a social call?" Whitey asked. He had sensed that something was off in the Scott family last night when Nathan had called to let them know that Haley was with him and safe, he just couldn't place it. He was aware of what yesterday meant to them, having experienced their behaviors first hand all four years of high school. It was the one day a year that neither of them gave their all at practice, even though these had been summer, stay in shape practices, they always gave 120 percent to every drill, play, and run that they did, except on that one day.

"Well, that's half true." Lucas said and pointed to the chairs on the porch. "Can we sit?"

"Please." Whitey said and followed after him to take a seat.

"I do want to know how everything is going with you, Camilla, the farm, and the team, but I was also hoping that you could give me some advice." He gave a small smile.

"We'll see if I have any advice to give. Fill me in."

"Ok, so you know what yesterday was, and like usual it was a tough day. It is getting easier though, I mean I can focus on good memories and think about how happy she would be now or what she would tell me if I talked to her about my life and I almost get away with not thinking about how horrible the accident was or the fact that my father was the one driving the car after getting drunk at some party and then crashing into a tree only to walk away, literally, unharmed while she slowly disappeared from our lives. But, now, all of that is coming back up again. I saw him last night. He was filling up his gas tank and looking just as smug as ever. I don't know what to do Whitey. Nate told me to just forget about it, he says that since we have no way of knowing where he is or how to find him that we should just let it go, but I don't think I can do that. I want him to pay for what he did to my mother even if I have to take care of things myself."

"Lucas, when did you turn into this angry young man in front of me, desperate for revenge?" Whitey asked and Lucas looked down quietly. "What happened to your mother is a tragedy, one that no one should have to go through and for you boys to have to deal with losing her in such a way must have been unbearable, but you have to let it go. You need to live your life for you and forget about Dan. Trust me, he has to live with the fact that he killed his wife in a horrible car accident, and not only that but he left behind his two and only sons when they needed him the most. The guilt that he has coursing through his veins should be eating him from the inside out. If you go after him seeking revenge, 10 years later, you will be giving him the easy way out, and in the process ending your life as you know it. Be smart, boy, choose to live, choose to be happy, but mostly choose to accept the bad and embrace the good because you are too good of a person to let things that are out of your control ruin your life." Lucas looked back up at him with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you Whitey." He said.

"You don't have to thank me, just come back to visit every once in a while. Camilla and I get lonely out here all by ourselves."

Lucas nodded and leaned over to hug the old man. "I will, I promise, but I'm not going anywhere yet. I have to sit and talk with you for at least an hour." He smiled and just like that they turned the conversation to things like the star players of Tree Hill High's basketball team, the strawberry wine and how it was doing, great NBA games, Nathan, Haley, and Camilla.

After helping Camilla make some cookies, Haley went upstairs so she could relax and think for a little while. When she walked into her room, she saw a box sitting on her bed that hadn't been there before so she walked over to it and found a small note on the top.

_Just a little something I thought you would like. I know you are going to give it away, but I wanted to help you out first._

This confused her, why would she give away a gift and why would someone get her something claiming to be helping her give it away. This was all so weird to her, yet she found herself even more intrigued than she had been when she first saw the box. She slowly opened the lid and put it to the side. She still hadn't looked in yet, she was both nervous and wanting to build the anticipation, but as she looked down she couldn't fight the smile that took over her face. There in the bottom of the box was a picture frame and in that picture frame was the black and white version of the picture she had taken at Nathan's field. Here was photographic proof of her grandparents love and she was thrilled that she would get to bring it to them after all this time. She put the lid back on the box, grabbed it and walked back down the stairs.

"Haley, dear, I thought you were resting. Did you change your mind?" Camilla asked.

"Yeah, come with me Grams." She answered excitedly and took her grandmother's hand, leading her out to the back porch. "Hi grandpa, hi Luke. Can I interrupt for a moment?"

"Lucas Scott, when did you get here?" Camilla asked.

"Oh, about an hour ago. Sorry, I would have come said hi but I was catching up with Whitey." He said and stood up to hug her.

"This is great you guys, I am so happy that you are getting to see each other again, but I cannot contain my excitement any longer." Haley said, breaking them apart and ushering her grandmother to sit down next to Whitey.

"What is going on with you Haley Bob?" Whitey asked.

"I'm about to tell you." She said and handed them the box. Camilla pulled back the lid and her face was priceless, her mouth was open with a slight hint of a smile, there was surprise, recall, and a tear or two in her eyes.

"Where did you-? How did you-?" She asked, lost for words.

"Ok, so you remember my second day here this summer? When Nathan took me somewhere? Well it turns out that he bought this huge, beautiful field and that is where he took me. I was amazed and loved every inch of it, especially this giant oak tree in the center of the field. We walked over to it and started looking at all these carvings people had made over the years and toward the end I looked up and saw your names. I was so surprised and thrilled to have found this wonderful piece of your past that I decided to take a picture. I had forgotten about it until I walked up to my room and found this waiting for me. I guess my wonderful boyfriend is even more awesome than I had originally thought." Haley explained and couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

Nathan who had walked up behind her halfway through her speech, unnoticed, stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Didn't think that was possible, did you?" He smirked and she lightly shoved him.

"You know what I didn't think was possible?" Lucas asked. "You getting any more cocky or full of yourself." He joked.

"No, I think that you are describing yourself. Right Hales, I'm not full of myself?" Nathan asked.

"No, not even a little bit." She said sarcastically, earning laughs from everyone else.

"Nathan, honey, you may be a little cocky, but you are who you are and we love you that way." Camilla said and patted his hand.

"Speaking of reasons we love you." Haley said and turned her face toward him. "Thank you for being such an amazing guy. You didn't have to do that for me, but you did and I love you for that."

"You're welcome." He said quietly and leaned down to kiss her. They shared a small, sweet kiss only slightly aware that there were still people standing around them.

"Love?" Camilla whispered, facing Whitey and Lucas. Whitey just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Yeah, they told each other this morning at breakfast." Lucas explained. "He accidentally let it slip that he loved her, then I went to his room to give them some privacy, and he gave her this mini speech about why he loved her and she said it back. It was one of those important romantic moments that they will always remember." Lucas explained.

Nathan stood out on his balcony, water bottle in hand, just looking out at the horizon. This view was nothing compared to his field, but it would do when he didn't feel like driving out there. Downtown was within walking distance so it was visible and at night, when the lights were on and people were walking around it was pretty nice to sit out there and observe everything going on. Dealing with everything from Lucas and his mom to telling Haley he loved her, he had gone through two overly emotional days and was taking this opportunity to relax while Haley got to know his brother.

Lucas felt bad for budging into the apartment, drunk, the night before and wanted to make it up to each of them. He decided that he would thank Haley first so that her first impression of him would be forgotten, despite the fact that she insisted she wouldn't hold it against him. Nathan had no idea what they were out doing, but he appreciated the fact that they let him have the night to himself. Not that he wanted to be away from them, per se, but it could be a little overwhelming to be around people all the time, even those that you love.

Even when he was younger he would go off to his room or a spot in the backyard or somewhere that no one else would come to bug him. He always did his best thinking when he was alone and that didn't stop as he grew older. His whole team joked that during finals no one was allowed to visit Nathan when he was in his room so that he could focus and study in order to pass each test. Even right before an intense game, they gave him his space when necessary. At first he thought it was funny, but he came to really appreciate it and the fact that his teammates cared so much about him.

Right now, though, he had a lot to think through. His whole life he felt like if the chance arose he would make sure that Dan paid for what he did, but now he's not so sure that he cares enough about what happens to his estranged father. Yes, he loves his mom, but he isn't going to take time and energy out of his own life to take Dan down. Lucas would tell him how terrible that was and that he should want Dan to burn, which he does to some point, and that he is disrespecting his dead mother. Then, of course, he would argue back saying that their mom would only want them to be happy and he is so why should he ruin that for Dan? A few months ago, he would have seriously considered going out and trying to hunt him down, but as soon as Haley walked into his life he knew he could be happy with her and even though she would probably forgive his stupid actions, she shouldn't have to deal with that. So, today when he overheard Lucas talking to Whitey everything became crystal clear to him. All the hate that Lucas was holding inside of him just didn't exist within Nathan's heart, all he had in his heart was love for Haley, for his family, for the game that he spent most of his time on, and for his mom and all she represents to him.

"Yo, Nate, you here?" Luke asked as he walked into Nathan's apartment. He saw him standing on the balcony, grabbed a beer, and walked out to join him.

"Hey, Haley here?" Nathan asked, looking behind Lucas.

"Nah, she had to head back home. She said she'd text you later." Nathan nodded and looked down at the street and the people walking around, noting how carefree they were and he wished his life could be like that. "She's great though man. We went to get ice cream and then I took her to the roof. We spent about an hour just talking about our lives and she kept asking all these questions about what you were like when you were younger. I think she believes you were secretly some big dork or something. You know, I could see us being really good friends."

"Yeah, that's nice. I'm glad you guys get along so well." Nathan smiled. "So, how long are you in town for?"

"Well, I hadn't thought about it too much, considering I was just supposed to be here yesterday, but I would like to stay for a while. I do have to go take care of some things back home though. So I might go tomorrow and then come back."

"Oh, ok well if you need a place to stay, you can always crash here. I mean there is a perfectly good couch with your name on it." He said and Lucas chuckled.

"Thanks man, I can always count on you to be hospitable."

"No problem, anything for family, right?" Nathan said. "Besides, if I were to come visit you I could stay at your place, I'm sure. Where are you living these days man?"

"About ten minutes from campus. You know that Haley's school is only like half an hour away from mine, right. Crazy stuff, huh?"

"That is pretty crazy." Nathan commented.

"Hey, maybe when you play us this year she could come to the game, I mean you are coming to my school."

"Yeah, that would be great. I'll have to talk to her about it. She's convinced that we will never see each other again once we leave for school." Nathan said.

"She's just scared, long distance is hard."

"Oh yeah, and what would you know about that?" Nathan asked. Not once in their whole lives had Lucas had a serious girlfriend. He was a two-weeker, he would date a girl and let her know going in that it wasn't going to be anything serious so she shouldn't get too attached and then, two weeks later he'd be done and move on to someone else a few days later. Nathan always chalked it up to him being too affected by losing his mom and not wanting to go through that kind of pain again.

"Let's just say I'm going through something similar?" Lucas replied vaguely.

"How long is this one going to last?"

"We're going on four months. Hopefully, it will last a lot longer."

"Are you serious?" Nathan asked, surprised. Lucas nodded and smiled, looking down. "Man, that's great. I'm so happy for you. When do I get to meet this girl?"

"Thanks, I'm pretty happy too but I don't want to rush things. She's planning on coming to visit soon, maybe I'll convince her to make a trip sooner and she can come back down here with me."

"Wow, your first serious relationship. That's like a major milestone." Nathan said and turned back toward his apartment. "C'mon let's go inside, we need to have a conversation about what else you are keeping from your favorite brother."

Lucas followed him inside, laughing, thankful for the distraction from all the current drama in his life.

Nathan went to the fridge and grabbed two beers. He handed one to Lucas and leaned against the counter, popping the top off of his. "Alright, spill, what's this girl like? You mentioned long distance, where's she live?"

"She lives in New York right now, she goes to school at NYU and was visiting some family in Boston and we just bumped into each other at a Taco Bell, of all places. We hit it off pretty quickly and became friends, but soon it evolved into something more. Wow, I sound like such a girl right now." He laughed. "Anyway, her name is Peyton, she's artistic, funny, blonde, and just a ball of energy at times. I think you'd like her, she's pretty easy to get along with."

"Well, I'm happy for you man. I know how great it is to be happy, and I hope that by being happy with her you will be able to lose some of this built up anger you have. It isn't terrible to talk and share with your girlfriend you know, it is actually pretty great."

"God, when did you become so wise and experienced? You are making me feel inadequate." Lucas laughed and walked over to the tv, turning some random game on and sitting on the couch.

"You're just jealous, you wish you could be like me." Nathan joked and sat next to him, stealing the remote.

"Oh, you caught me, I'm jealous of you. How did you know?"

"What's there to not be jealous of? I mean I have a great life, a smoking hot girlfriend, a great job, I'm a starter for the Tar Heel's basketball team, and I am ridiculously good-looking. If I were you I'd be jealous of me." He smirked.

"Whatever." Lucas laughed and shoved Nathan so that he almost fell off the couch.

"Hey, if you break any part of this body, coach will have your ass. Not to mention the fact that Haley will yell at you and like defend my honor or something."

"See, this is the Nathan I know, none of that super-wise crap from earlier." Lucas pointed out. "Besides, Haley and I are like this," He said, holding up two fingers intertwined, "she would never yell at me."

"Um, I'm pretty sure she would, we are much closer than you two are."

"No way, we are going to be best friends, just you wait."

"Ok, well boyfriend trumps friend, sorry." Nathan argued.

"Best friends." Lucas repeated, smiling. "Forever."

"Shut up, you sound like a 10 year old girl." Nathan said and laughed at Lucas's glared toward him. "I'm just sayin'."

"Whatever, just go to your room so I can go to sleep." Lucas said and as Nathan stood up his phone rang. Nathan had faster reflexes than Lucas however so he got to it first.

"Hm, Peyton. Think I should answer it?" Nathan asked and took in the angry look his brother was giving him. "Yeah, I think I will." He opened the phone. "Hello, Luke's phone, Nathan speaking. How may I help you this evening?"

"Um hi, this is Peyton and well I guess you could let me talk to Lucas, unless there was something very interesting you would like to tell me." Peyton said, chuckling on the other end.

"Well, there are so many stories that I could tell you about my charming brother, but I will save those for another time based on the look he is giving me right now." Nathan said and smiled at Lucas. He handed him the phone and laughed as he walked down the hall to his room. "Get it Lucas!" He yelled. "I'll see you in the morning."

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><p><strong>So this story is a little different for me in that it involves Leyton. Normally I am a Brucas fan, but I felt the need to add some Leyton because my best friend is a big fan and I felt the need to please her. Thank you again for sticking with me!<strong>

**As always, let me know what you think :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys...I am so very sorry for not updating sooner, what has it been...two weeks. It is completely my bad and you can all hate me as much as you want, at least until you read this chapter which I hope will make up for it. I just moved into my college dorm last week and I have been spending all this time getting used to life on campus and having to do all this mandatory freshman stuff...anyway, there is my excuse for not having this up sooner... I am using all my spare time to write as much as possible to get chapters up sooner. Next week I start swim practices too so I will have even less time, but I promise I will get chapters up ASAP. Please bear with me and don't forget to review ;)**

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Haley was standing out in her grandparents' yard, watching the butterflies and birds fly through the air around her. She hadn't really just been out in the yard in a while and wanted to take advantage of the silence while she could. It was now halfway through July and she was feeling the effects of summer coming to an end. Tomorrow, she would be leaving to go back home for a few days and then drive back out here with Brooke and all of the stuff she would need for her dorm come September.<p>

This would be a little test run for her and Nathan, but she was surer than ever that they would be ok, they had to be. She had grown far too attached to him at this point to lose him now, or any time in the future. So, they would have to make it work. It helped that her parents were letting her bring her car to school, that way she could make visits whenever possible for the two of them. They wouldn't be that far from each other.

Right now, inside the house her grandmother was getting to know Lucas's girlfriend, Peyton, who had finally been able to come visit. Lucas had come back to town immediately after leaving and had been here ever since. He and Haley quickly became good friends and were planning out little adventures that they could have together during the school year, and Peyton seemed to be a welcome addition to their little group of friends as both Haley and Nathan warmed up to her right away.

She enjoyed being around everyone in there but needed a small break from the noise and the group to think and to breath, so about 30 minutes ago she stepped outside and stayed right in the middle of the yard.

Nathan knew that Haley liked her space and wanted to be alone every now and then, but he also knew that this wasn't one of those times. She may think that, but he knows better. She is just nervous about the upcoming months and what these next couple of days will signify to her. So, in true good-boyfriend fashion, he was going to show her that she should stop worrying and just relax tonight.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey, everyone misses you in there. You know that you are the life of the party and we are all just sitting around, waiting for you to come join us again." He said, leaning his cheek against the side of her head.

Haley looked around him into the window of the kitchen and saw her grandmother gesturing with her hands and everyone else laughing. "Oh yeah?" She asked.

"Ok, maybe it was mostly me." He laughed. "But they did ask me where you snuck off to."

"Did you tell them?"

"Nah, but they will figure it out eventually. You aren't the best at hiding; they can just look out the back window and see you standing here." He laughed. "However, I do have a plan if you are willing to hear it."

"Yeah? What's that?" She asked, intrigued as she craned her neck to look up at his face.

"Well, I figured we could do a little misdirection/diversion thing to sneak out of here. You go in the back door, start talking with them, you know capture their attention and keep it, I will sneak in through the front and throw a bunch of food into a bag and we can quietly escape. Once we are out we can go have a private, nice dinner together at the field for your last night in town for a while, what do you say?"

"I say that my boyfriend is a genius, and a loveable one at that." She smiled and waited as he leaned down to place a light kiss on her lips. He pulled back and smiled down at her, releasing his hands from around her waist. He playfully reached down and slapped her butt just as she was about to turn around.

"Let's do this." He said and watched as she led the way and just shook her head at his enthusiasm.

Ten minutes later, after almost giving them away by laughing at Nathan while he tried to balance food and ended up dropping a few rolls, they were out of the house and in Nathan's car on the way to the field.

Nathan was singing along, badly and loudly, to whatever was playing on the radio. He didn't know the lyrics most of the time, but what he lacked in musical knowledge he made up for in commitment and bravado. Haley knew that he was just trying to make her laugh and help her feel better and he was doing a very good job at it. He looked over at her and gave one of those crooked, half smiles that make every girl swoon because they feel like it is meant specifically for them and she tried her best to fight it, but in response gave a little giggle, then stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm never going to get over how adorable you are. I hope you know that." He said and turned his attention back to the road.

She just sighed and shook her head. He was always saying stuff like this and with each little sentence she fell a little deeper. "I swear you are going to drive me crazy."

"What does that mean?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Nothing, it's just that I get to this point where I can't imagine you being any more perfect for me, but then all of a sudden it happens."

"It's because I'm so awesome." He smirked.

"Ok, we're back down a little bit." She joked.

He just laughed and continued driving.

It wasn't much longer before they were back, where they started, at their field. Haley immediately got out and started jogging out toward the tree. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that he was standing by the hood of his car watching her. She spun in a few circles, arms spread out wide trying to feel the wind as much as possible.

"You just going to stand there all night, or are you going to come join me?" She yelled over at him and winked before starting to run off again.

She looked over her shoulder and saw him laugh before chasing after her. He started out lightly jogging, but in an effort to catch her faster he picked up his speed and soon he was running right behind her. He reached forward, grabbed her waist, and picked her up spinning her in circles and holding her to his chest. He set her back on the ground and she turned around in his arms and looked up into his eyes.

"You got me." She whispered and stood up on her toes to give him a light kiss. He pulled away, smiled down at her, and gave her an affectionate forehead kiss before letting her go and turning away. "Where are you going?" She laughed.

"Just wait a minute please. I will be right back." He winked and jogged over toward the car. She smiled and laughed to herself, but began to feel incredibly nervous when she saw him get inside the car and start it. She seriously couldn't believe that he would just leave her here. When the car began moving, she was relieved to see that it was moving toward her and not away from her. He pulled the car around underneath the oak tree onto the freshly cut grass. He got out of the car and walked over to her, grabbing onto her hand when he reached her. "C'mon gorgeous." He said and began to lead her in the direction he had just come from.

"I was beginning to think that you were just going to leave me all alone out here for a second." Haley said, pulling herself closer to him.

"If it would mean getting to have you all to myself and you not leaving tomorrow, I might consider it." He said and looked down at her. She just smiled at him and he let go of her to go grab some things from the car. He re-emerged a minute later with a blanket and the basket of food they had commandeered.

"Oh, a picnic under the tree?" Haley asked.

"Yep, only the best for you babe." He joked.

"You joke now, but this the best." She said and leaned up to give him a quick peck before taking the blanket and spreading it out so they could be looking out at the sunset.

"And we know the food will be good because Camilla is the best cook." He said as they sat down and began taking food out.

"Yeah, well I learned how to cook from her so you better watch out buddy."

"If I wasn't planning to keep you around before I sure am now." He laughed and looked at her as she picked at a roll. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired." She half smiled at him.

"C'mon Hales, I've been around girls long enough to know that when they say they are tired they aren't actually tired. They just don't want you to know that something is bothering them." He tried to further persuade her to tell him but gently rubbing her back but she just sighed and leaned into his side. "We will be fine, Hales, and these next few days are going to prove that to you. Is this fall going to hurt like hell, yes, but we can do it because we are strong."

Haley smiled and looked up at him. She stood up and walked over to the car. Before Nathan could ask what she was doing her heard the radio start and her beginning to fumble around with the stations. He heard the soft voice of Taylor Swift and chuckled to himself as it stopped there. She came back around and stood in front of him.

"Dance with me?" She asked quietly and reached her hand out for him. He stood up and took her much smaller hand in his. They stepped off the blanket and he wrapped her in his arms, holding one of her hands to his chest. The music was just background and they barely heard it as they looked into each other's eyes. Eventually the song changed, but they stayed right where they were, swaying and holding onto each other. "I love you." She whispered and laid her head on his chest.

"I love you too baby." He said quietly and kissed her forehead.

"Have a safe flight and you remember to drive carefully on the way back. We want you to be in the exact same condition when you get here or we will return you." Camilla joked as she, Haley, Nathan, Whitey, and Lucas stood outside the airport to drop Haley off.

"I will grams, I promise and Brooke is a really good driver so we will be just fine." Haley said.

"Let us know when you land." Whitey said and gave her a quick hug. Haley nodded and turned to Lucas.

"You take care of him these next few days." She pointed at Lucas and nodded to Nathan.

"I won't let him out of my sight." Lucas promised and pulled her into a tight hug. They had become very close and it seemed to them that they had known each other for a lot longer than they actually had.

Camilla gave Haley one last big hug then turned toward Whitey and Lucas. "We'll wait in the car." She said and pulled the other two away with her.

Haley turned to Nathan and gave him a shy smile.

"What are you doing?" He laughed.

"I don't know." She sighed.

"Get over here." He said and opened his arms. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too, but it will be nice to go home for a little while. I do miss my other boyfriend out there." She joked.

"Yeah? You gonna miss me more?"

"Who are you again?" She let go of him and asked, turning to head into the airport. He shook his head and chuckled, but grabbed onto her hand and turned her around, kissing her with everything in him. They stood there in front of the airport, kissing with so much passion that anyone walking by could tell that they were in love. When they pulled apart she rested her forehead against his and had a single tear falling down her cheek. "I have to go." She whispered and he nodded.

He gave her hand one last squeeze and let it go, watching her walk away. Just as she rounded a corner he was turning around and heading back to the car when he thought he heard her calling his name. He looked back just in time to see her running right at him and when she was close enough grabbing the back of his neck and pulling it down so she could plant a loving, salty, tear-filled kiss on his open lips. She finished up with a simple yet long kiss and brushing her lips against his. "I love you and I'll see you in about a week." She smiled and immediately started walking back toward the airport.

"I love you too Haley James." He yelled just before she entered the double doors at the front of the building. He walked back to the car with the biggest goofy smile on his face.

_Just landed in Cali….headed home with the parents :)_

Haley texted to Nathan and Camilla, knowing they would spread the message to everyone else. She just got off the plane and was looking around for her parents' car out in the pick-up section of the airport. She had managed to take a little nap on the plane, but most of the time she talked with the old lady sitting next to her. When she saw her parents they were dancing to some up-tempo hip hop song in the front seat of the car. She walked up to the window and laughed when they didn't notice her standing there.

"I know that this is your jam or whatever, but could you at least say hi to me?" She asked, smiling.

"Ah, there's our girl." Lydia said and nudged Jimmy as if he hadn't yet noticed that Haley was there. They both got out and hugged her quickly before they all piled back in the car and headed back toward home. "So, how's Nathan?"

Haley just laughed. "He's good. You know what I love, I have been gone for over a month and the first thing you ask me when I get back is about my boyfriend, who you haven't technically met by the way."

"We met him on the phone honey. We have what is called a technological relationship." Lydia informed her as she took a sharp turn and looked in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah, well, either way you should want to know how I am doing."

"We do want to know how you are doing Bob, but you see we figure that you will just tell us that. We have to ask how the boy is doing." Jimmy informed her.

"Whatever." Haley laughed. "Anyway, I am happy and I am so excited to see everyone here and spend these next few days at home."

"Well, Hales, most of your friends aren't in town right now. There's this cool party going on and they didn't know you were coming back, well everyone except Brooke and her new boyfriend." Lydia explained.

"What? How did I not know that was going on?" Haley asked shocked. "And how do you know more about what is going on with my friends than I do?"

"They come over and have lunch with me sometimes, we're close. Besides, you know that your friends go somewhere every summer and get their party on. They just happened to do that the same week you got home this year."

"That's great and all mom, but that wasn't what I was shocked about. Who is Brooke's new guy?" Haley asked trying to get her mom to hurry up and get to the point.

"Oh, yeah, he's some film student from like USC or something like that. They met through a friend and she just absolutely adores him. He's a cutie actually." Lydia explained.

"Oh my god I need to have a talk with that girl." Haley said and picked up her vibrating phone.

_Good, have fun….tell them I say hi. I'll call you tonight, beautiful._

Haley smiled as she looked over Nathan's words.

"Aw, Jimmy look, our little girl is smiling because of a boy." Lydia said and nudged Jimmy, who just shook his head and chuckled.

Haley picked her phone back up and dialed a very familiar number. She waited three rings for an answer until they finally picked up.

"Brooke Davis, who is this boy that my mother is telling me about?" Haley asked annoyed.

"What? Lydia promised she wouldn't tell!" Brooke exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'Lydia promised she wouldn't tell?'" Haley asked and heard her mom mutter a 'my bad' in the background. "You should have told me yourself, supposed best friend."

"Chill Hales, I was gonna tell you. You just have to be patient."

"Coming from the girl who freaked out because two minutes after I found out I got into Harvard she still didn't know."

"Oh whatever! That was way too exciting not to know the news right away. Besides, Julian and I just started going out last week."

"Julian, huh? That's a nice name."

"It is. It's a nice name for a nice guy, kinda fitting huh?"

"Definitely. I can't wait to see you and to meet this Julian. What's he like?" Haley asked, extremely curious as to why her best friend wasn't overloading her with information on this guy like she did with every other one.

"Well, get to that later. Right now I want to hear all about your last few days in Tree Hill and the gooey, romantic, heartbreaking goodbye between you and Nathan. Did you cry? Did he cry?"

"It was romantic, and it was sad, but I don't remember there being any gooey substances there. Yes, I cried, but no I don't believe that he did. Anyway, he's going to call me later tonight so I'll get to talk to him. When do I get to see you?"

"When are you getting to your house?"

"We just pulled into the driveway." Haley said and absent-mindedly unbuckled her seat belt and began getting out of the car.

"Then you get to see me now." Brooke said and ran out of Haley's front door. She rushed over and jumped up on Haley. The two best friends hugged and spun around in circles, making up for lost time having not seen each other for about two months. "I missed you Hales."

"Ah, I missed you too Brookie." Haley said and they broke out of their embrace. Laughing, they linked arms and walked into the James' household, eager to catch up and swap stories.

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><p><strong>As always, Let me know what you think... the review button isn't that far from the bottom of the story<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, so I realize that this chapter is long overdue and I am so very sorry about that. Things have not been going the way that I want them too and I haven't had much writing time unfortunately. I had written this chapter about a month ago, but somehow it got deleted from my computer. That made me pretty angry so I stopped writing in protest a little bit thinking that if I didn't write anymore the computer would be nice and the chapter would magically reappear. That wasn't the case however. Oh, and I pretty much decided that guys are jerks so I lost all inspiration to write Nathan the way he deserves to be written and I wasn't going to do that. I do hope that you all didn't give up on this story and that you don't hate me too much for my little hiatus.**

"Nathan Scott, did you listen to anything I just told you?" Camilla asked as she watched him grab yet another homemade donut from the cooling rack right after she told him not to. He had a far off look on his face and she realized that he didn't even know she was talking. "Nathan!" She yelled, tossing some powdered sugar at him.

"Huh? What? Oh, sorry Camilla. I was listening I promise." He responded and wiped the sugar from his face.

"Oh really, then what did I say young man?"

"Oh, you got 'young man'-ed. Way to go Nate. Camilla, please ignore my dumbass of a brother he is too distracted by the fact that my best friend is coming back today." Lucas said, walking into the kitchen. "And she will be here in two short hours."

"Yeah, two short hours that seem to be dragging on and on." Nathan complained.

"Cheer up mopey, your girl's coming back." Lucas said as he patted Nathan on the back.

"That's right, my granddaughter will be here in two hours and you are eating all the donuts that I made especially for her. So stop it." Camilla said pointing her spatula at the boys just as Lucas was about to grab a donut.

"Sorry Camilla." They both said at the same time.

"I guess I better get back to work. I want to be done before she gets here." Nathan said and began making his way back outside. Just as he opened the door he was met by a hand in front of his face ready to knock on the now open door.

"Well howdy there cowboy. Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help us girls bring our bags in?" The bubbly brunette asked, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Hi Brooke. Nice to finally put a face to the voice." Nathan smiled and shook her outstretched hand.

"Likewise boytoy, now Nate, will you please stop talking to me and go greet that girl of yours?" Brooke asked and didn't even finish her sentence before he was walking around her out toward where he assumed they'd parked.

He rounded the corner and saw her car parked there, but she was nowhere in sight. He looked around and turned in a circle and he still couldn't see her. Just as he was about to give up and walk back toward the house to see if she'd already gone inside he heard a noise behind him. He looked back to see Haley walk around the trunk of the tree smiling at him with a playful gleam in her eye.

"You weren't going to give up on me that quickly were you?" She asked walking up to him and placing her finger on his chest.

"I would never give up on you Haley James. However I was going to walk inside just in case you had already made your way in there. You see I looked around and my beautiful girlfriend was missing." He responded and wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe you should have looked harder. At this point I feel like I will always win if we play hide and go seek."

"I'd probably let you win, you know, hide in easy places so you could find me faster."

"Yeah, I doubt it. I am very good at hiding, so you'd never be able to find me. I wasn't even trying before. Just wait until I actually am."

"Ok, well when that day comes we will see what happens." He smiled down at her.

"Oh will you two just have a gooey, romantic reunion and kiss already?" Brooke yelled from the porch.

"Brooke!" Haley yelled back, peeking from around Nathan.

"Haley Bob, I agree with this lovely young lady. You two need to make up for lost time and get those lips fused together." Camilla said stepping out from the kitchen.

"Grams, really? Is this really happening right now?" Haley asked frustrated.

"Ok peanut gallery," Lucas said grabbing the arms of Camilla and Brooke and pulling them back toward the house. "Let's go inside and leave these two kids to it."

"Thanks man." Nathan said and waved at his brother. Lucas nodded back and shut the door behind him.

"Where were we?" Haley asked.

"Haley James! Are you initiating an intimate situation with me?" Nathan asked smirking.

"Well I'm trying to. If you would just cooperate with me."

"I don't know. I was looking for my girlfriend and it would really suck if she saw me participating in a small make out session with you." He joked.

"Just shut up and kiss me."

"Yes ma'am." He replied and leaned down. He let his lips meet hers in a soft, sweet kiss but she quickly took control and deepened it. As their lips danced and dueled they were aware of few noises in the background but as the wind-chimes sounded and the wind blew through Haley's hair making it fly around them Brooke had broken free and was cheering them on from the porch.

"Get it Haley!" She yelled. "I knew I was a good influence on that girl." She said to Camilla who just laughed.

"Sorry guys, they got away from me. It won't happen again." Lucas said and pulled them away again.

Haley laughed and looked up into Nathan's beautiful blue eyes. "I missed you." She smiled.

"You don't even know beautiful." He smiled and wiped the pad of his thumb across her cheek. "But even though I missed you I felt comfortable not being around you, in a good way. You know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I get it. I feel good about us too."

"You know what else I feel good about?" He asked.

"What's that babe?"

"The fact that your wonderful grandma made a crazy amount of donuts just for your return and they are all sitting on the counter right inside that house. And now that you're back I can eat them without getting yelled at." He said and she shoved his chest.

"Is that why you keep me around? For my grandma's cooking?"

"I'm a growing boy Hales. I need to eat." He flashed a full-mouth smile and laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess we can go join the fam then. Let's go." She said and led the way inside.

"It's about time you two stopped kissing in my backyard and came inside to see us old people." Whitey said when they walked in the door. He looked up from his newspaper and smiled at his granddaughter.

"Hi Grandpa." She smiled and let go of Nathan's hand to walk over and hug Whitey. They embraced and she turned to smile at Camilla and Lucas.

"Oh, I see who you like better. I spend all day slaving over the stove making these donuts for you but you say hi to the old grouch first." Camilla said.

"Hey!" Whitey protested.

"You know it's true." Camilla pointed at him. "But you're my old grouch so I accept it."

"Grams, you saw me already and all you wanted was for me to get reunited with boytoy over here." Haley motioned to Nathan over her shoulder. He just smiled and shook his head. "Thank you for the donuts by the way. I am very excited to eat them." She said and walked over to hug her grandmother.

"Hales, let me help you out and get you a donut." Nathan said and walked over to grab one.

"Aw how sweet of you." She smiled, aware of what he was doing.

"Well I am just the most thoughtful boyfriend you could ever have. In fact, I better taste it first just to make sure it is good." He said, bring the donut up to his mouth. He took a big bite and smiled at her with powdered sugar on his face. "Oh yeah, that's a good one."

"Oh yeah? It's a good one? I would think so considering Grams made it." She smiled back.

"You never know, there may have been some bad flour or something." He suggested.

"I resent that young man. Everything I make is delicious." Camilla said and pointed at him. "And you know that."

"This is true. I am the official taste tester and not once have I been disappointed." Nathan said. "Here you go babe, you can have this one. I'll check to see if the next one is good too."

"That's so thoughtful of you, but I think I'll check the next one and you can just finish that one off yourself." Haley smiled and walked over to give Lucas a hug.

"Well if you insist." Nathan shrugged and took another big bite, smiling the whole time.

"You look awfully happy over there bud." Brooke said from her seat at the counter.

"What's not to be happy about? I've got my girl back, I've got my friends, and I've got a whole counter full of amazing, delicious donuts." Nathan said.

"I guess that makes sense. Now I want to talk to Julian." Brooke pouted and pulled her phone out to text her man.

"Tell him I say hi." Haley said and grabbed her own donut before sidling up next to Nathan. "Where's Peyton at Luke?"

"She had to go to the store. She was under the impression that you would be back in like two hours. Speaking of, you guys must have hauled some serious ass to get here so quickly." Lucas responded.

"No, we just woke up super early and lied to you guys about where we were so that this girl could surprise her man." Brooke said and stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "Waking up before the sun rises is so not what I want to do, but apparently I can't say no to that face."

"You love me." Haley said.

"Sad but true."

"Liar." Haley replied and took a bite of her donut. She smiled as she looked around the room at her family and friends and couldn't help the rush of love she felt wash over her.

"Oh you know me too well." Brooke said and waved her hand at Haley.

"Hey party people. Whose car is parked by the tree? And how long until the lovely Haley James gets here?" Peyton asked walking in the door and sorting through a bag of groceries. She looked up to see everyone smiling at her and not recognizing one of the faces she figured it was Haley's friend. Immediately she looked over at Nathan, knowing she would find Haley at his side, and gave her the biggest smile. "Hey foxy, get your butt over here and hug me."

Haley giggled and rushed over to hug her friend. "Nice to see you again Peyton. How was it here without me?"

"It wasn't too bad unless you count mopey here whining about missing you." Peyton said and bumped hips with her.

"I wasn't that bad." Nathan said. "It was only like two weeks."

"Whatever you say hotshot." Peyton laughed and turned to Brooke. "Hi, I'm Peyton."

"Brooke," she introduced and shook her hand, "it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise and it is so great that we finally have another girl here. Now we can outnumber the guys." Peyton laughed.

"You may be able to outnumber us, but you can't beat us." Lucas said.

"I don't know about that one Luke. I beat Nathan at a little game of hide and go seek earlier." Haley said and winked up at her boy.

"Well that's just because the boy is too lazy to look for anything. He lost a sock once and instead of looking around for it he just went out and bought a new pair. Little did he know that it was just under a pair of his shorts and we would find it two days later." Lucas shared.

"Whatever, I got more socks out of that so I didn't have to do as much laundry. Win win." Nathan countered.

"Touché."

"Either way, we would totally kick your asses in whatever competition you throw our way. Right Camilla?" Brooke asked.

"Right Brooke." Camilla said.

"We'll see about that, but not right now. I just want to relax and spend time with my girl." Nathan said and wrapped his arm around Haley's shoulders.

"Sounds good to me. What are the plans for the day?" Haley asked.

"Well, we are going to have dinner in a little while. We actually need to get started on that Brian. After that, Nathan has something special planned for all of us. We don't really know what it is, but he said that we'll enjoy it." Camilla said.

"What is it?" Haley asked, looking up at Nathan.

"It's a surprise." He replied.

Haley noticed Lucas smile and look away. "Luke, you know about it don't you?"

"Nope." He said, trying to keep a straight face while shaking his head.

"Lucas Eugene Scott, you are a terrible liar. Please tell me what this crazy boy has planned for the evening. I hate surprises." Haley pleaded.

"Eugene?" Peyton asked, laughing.

"Haley, how did you find out my middle name?" Lucas asked and playfully glared at his girlfriend.

"I guessed?" She shrugged sheepishly and Nathan looked away.

"Nate! I told you not to tell anyone." Lucas yelled.

"Chill Eugene, it's just a name."

"Sure Royal. But you see I am going to be the better brother and keep your secret surprise."

"Thanks man, and you can use Royal against me but it doesn't bug me like Eugene bugs you."

"I think it's cute." Haley said. "It's like I'm dating a prince." She smiled.

"Well I think Eugene is a very nice middle name Luke. In fact, it makes me even more attracted to you." Peyton said and rubbed his back in an effort to make him feel better.

"Oh really?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.

"Uh-huh." She nodded and smiled at him.

"Ok, well not to interrupt this little love fest, but what are we going to do right now?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke's never been one for patience." Haley commented.

"Oh shush. I am patient. I just like to stay occupied." Brooke responded. "So? What'll it be?"

"We could always take you on a tour of Tree Hill, but I don't know how long dinner is going to take. Or we could help Grams make dinner." Haley suggested.

"Nonsense Haley Bob, you spend some time with your friends and your grandfather will help me make dinner." Camilla said.

"Ok, or we could just go hang out and watch some TV or just hang out." Haley offered.

"That sounds good to me." Nathan commented and the others nodded their agreement.

"I'll do anything that keeps me from moving around too much." Lucas said.

"God, you are so lazy." Nathan commented and started leading the way to the living room, Haley in tow and everyone else following after them.

"Nathan, when are we going to find out what is going on?" Brooke asked as the three of them rode in Nathan's car and the rest followed behind in Luke's.

"Brooke, relax. Nathan obviously put a lot of effort into making sure that this works out the way he wants it to. We need to respect that." Haley said.

"Thanks baby." Nathan said and squeezed her hand.

"Besides, I think I figured it out anyway." Haley smiled.

"And why is that?" He asked.

"I've been here too many times not to know the way by heart." Haley commented.

"That is true, but it also means that you are the only one who does know where we are going. Everyone else is in the dark, including this best friend of yours so don't say anything."

"I promise." She winked.

"Aww c'mon guys. I feel so out of the loop. Just one little hint?" Brooke asked.

"Sorry Brookie. You'll just have to wait and see." Haley smiled at her and turned to look at Nathan's profile. The setting sun was framing his face so perfectly as he kept his focus on the road. He had a smile that hadn't disappeared since she had gotten back that brought a twinkle to his eyes. She couldn't believe that she had been gone for two weeks because it felt like she had never left his side.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, never taking his eyes off of the road in front of him.

"I'm not looking, I'm gazing. It's cute." Haley responded.

"If you say so." He replied and smirked.

"Well I do, so it is." She smiled. "Ah, I missed this place." She sighed as they turned onto the road leading up to his field.

"This is where we are going? To the middle of nowhere?" Brooke asked.

"It's Nathan's field Brooke, and it is amazing." Haley commented. "But why are we coming here?" She asked Nathan.

"Well I figured you spent one of your first nights here so we should spend your first night back here too." He explained.

"Isn't he adorable?" Haley turned to Brooke and asked.

"He certainly is, Hales. You sure know how to pick 'em." Brooke responded.

"You too Brookie. Julian is quite amazing." Haley commented.

"I know!" Brooke squealed. "We did good bestie."

"Not to interrupt this little gushing session about how great I am, but we are here." Nathan said and let go of Haley's hand to turn off the car and get out. Haley and Brooke soon followed his lead as well as everyone else in the other car.

"So, what Nate, did you bring us all out here to kill us?" Peyton asked, stepping cautiously out onto the field.

"Hey, how'd you know? I thought I hid my intentions really well." He sarcastically replied. "No, now will you all just shut up and wait for me to explain?" He asked and everyone nodded. "Great. So Haley was the first person I shared this place with. At the time I didn't know what it was about her, but now I see that her kindness and her love just make me want to share my world with her. Now, I want to share my favorite place with all of you on her first night back. I know that some of you have been here before," he looked over at Whitey and Camilla, "but this time will be different. We are going to spend time together and relax and just enjoy hanging out. Also, there may be a small bonfire involved, and possibly s'mores." He smiled.

"Well isn't that just the sweetest thing?" Camilla asked Whitey who shrugged in response.

"It is Grams." Haley said, smiling. She walked over to Nathan and kissed his cheek before turning back around to look at everyone else. "So, who's as ready for these s'mores as I am?"

"Oh, I am so ready." Peyton said, laughing and linking her arm with Haley's.

"Alright, let's do this." Haley said and started to walk toward the tree she had grown so fond of. When they got closer she noticed several logs placed around a small fire pit, just big enough for all of them to sit around it comfortably.

Haley took her seat on a log and was immediately flanked on both sides by Brooke and Peyton. She smiled at them and looked over to see Nathan sit next to her Grandfather. He looked up and caught her eyes. She smiled at him and he winked back. Maintaining eye contact for just a few more seconds, she managed to mouth an "I love you" which he reciprocated and sent her a smirk before breaking off into a conversation about how their favorite NBA teams were doing.


	9. Chapter 9

**So I kinda absolutely love this chapter! I hope you all agree because I worked hard on it and I want you all to love it as much as I do. I know that updates don't come very often but I promise that I get them out as quick as I can. I love you all for sticking with me through this story. Please review if you would like….Enjoy :) **

"Clothes?" Brooke asked as she looked down at the check list Haley had made to be sure she had taken care of everything before leaving for college this morning.

"Check." Haley said and pointed to her suitcase full of clothes.

"Pictures?"

"Check."

"Laptop? Power cords? TV?"

"Check. Check. Check." Haley said and looked around at all the stuff she was going to put into her car. It was going to be a tight fit, but she knew she could get it done.

"Well, then you have all of your material possessions checked off. Now you just have the long goodbyes and taking about a zillion more pictures with your best friend so you don't forget her when you get to meet all the big shots at Harvard." Brooke said, snapping a picture of Haley picking up a suitcase.

"Aw Brookie, I could never forget you. Besides, you promised that you would come visit me." Haley consoled, dropping her suitcase and hugging Brooke.

"I know, but hey perfect picture opportunity! Turn." Brooke pointed the camera at their faces and took the photo as they remained hugging.

"Do I get a picture?" Nathan asked as he and Lucas approached them from behind.

"Sorry boytoy, these pictures are for best friends only." Brooke explained.

"Cool, so I can get one." Lucas said and grabbed Haley's hand, pulling her to him. He twirled her in a circle, then dipped her as if they were in the middle of an intense dance move. "Alright Brooke, make sure you get my good side." He joked as she took the picture.

"Not possible honey." Brooke laughed.

Haley stood up and smiled at them before walking over to Nathan. She could tell that his smile was fake.

"Can I have a picture with you?" She asked, looking up at him and batting her eyelashes.

"Of course." He replied and wrapped his arm around her. They looked over at Brooke and smiled as they held each other, but Brooke could tell that Haley was putting up a front. She wasn't one to like not having the people that she loves most in her life so Brooke knew that this was going to be really hard on her.

"Haley Bob, we have to get on the road soon." Whitey said. He and Camilla were standing by their car watching all the interactions between the group of friends. They were driving up with Haley to help her and Brooke get her room all set up. "Traffic is going to be heavy in just a little bit and I would like to get ahead of it."

"Ok, just give me a few more minutes." Haley said and looked around at everyone.

"I'll finish putting your things in the car." Brooke told her and patted her arm. "Emotional goodbyes?"

"Check." Haley said and turned to Lucas. "Hey buddy. So I will be seeing you as much as possible, and I will go to games to see you play. I may even cheer for you over that bonehead over there when you guys play each other." She joked, nodding at Nathan who was shaking his head. "Tell that beautiful girlfriend of yours that I love her and I wish she could have been here and that she definitely has to come visit me when she comes to see you."

"Alright, I will." He smiled and hugged her. "Drive safe and I will see you later." They hugged again and she pulled away to look over at Nathan.

Brooke saw them make eye contact and noticed Camilla and Whitey get in their car so she got in the driver's seat of Haley's car. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that Haley would be too emotional to drive after this.

"Hi." Haley said shyly and looked at the ground. He lifted up her chin with his pointer finger and gave her a slight smile.

"Hi." He paused. "You don't have to be shy about this Hales. We both knew it was coming, but guess what? We are strong enough to beat this stupid distance thing. I love you, and that is all that matters, hands down. You love me, right?"

"You know I do." She smiled. "And I am positive that we will be just fine, but that doesn't mean that I won't miss you. Because I will, every day."

"I know babe, I'll miss you too. Nothing is going to help that."

"There is this thing called a phone and it's crazy, but it has this feature where you can type things to other people, and sometimes you can even hear the voices of the people you care about."

"You know what else there is? Skype. That way I can still see that beautiful face of yours on a regular basis."

"Well I suppose that we can make arrangements for those sessions." Haley smiled and leaned into his chest. "You smell good. Can I just take you with me?"

"Sorry Hales, I wish you could. There is something else that I can give to you." He said and kissed her head.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" She asked, breathing him in.

He pulled her away from him and reached for the collar of his t-shirt. He pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to her. Brooke leaned out of the open window and snapped a quick picture of the shirtless Nathan.

"What's this for?" Haley asked, confused.

"It smells like me, right?" He smiled. "This way, when you miss me, you can just smell the shirt and pretend that I am next to you."

Haley smiled and pulled him in for a hug. "You are like the best boyfriend ever." He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "What happens when it starts to smell more like me than you?"

"Sorry hun, but we have to go." Camilla yelled out the window.

"Well, then I will just have to come see you so that you can have another one, and then you can smell like me again." He smirked.

"That sounds perfect." Haley sighed. "I have to go. I love you." She said and felt one tear slide down her face.

"I love you too. Let me know when you get there." He gave her one last peck and stepped back so that she could join Brooke in the car.

Haley turned around and took one last look at the place she would always call home and the boy that she loved. As the cars pulled away Lucas and Nathan waved and watched until they were no longer visible.

"Hales, are you ok?" Brooke asked, glancing over at her best friend while driving on the highway. They'd been in the car for about 20 minutes and she heard sniffles coming from the other side of the car.

"Yeah," she said, wiping the tears off of her face, "I'm fine."

"Haley, you don't have to hide your emotions from me. I am your best friend and I can see that you are hurting. So talk to me." Brooke persuaded.

"Really, I'm fine. It just sucks that I am going so far away. You are going to be all the way in California. Nathan is going to be here in North Carolina. And I am going to be all alone in Boston. I just…I don't know, I am feeling like I am abandoning my friends to go be by myself."

"Trust me when I say that none of us feel abandoned. We all love you and are supporting you through this next step in your education. Besides you make friends so easily that you will be turning people away so you can have some alone time. I am confident that you will be great, but if you need anything…to talk, to cry, to have someone fly out to see you, just know that I am only a phone call away. I love you Haley James."

"You truly are the best friend that I could ever ask for. I love you too Brooke Davis." Haley said and gave her a partial, awkward hug while trying not to mess up her driving.

"Now we only have 12 more hours of driving and you will be in this fabulous new home of yours."

"God, it feels like we just drove across the country. Now we have to deal with another long road trip." Haley sighed.

"At least you have the best road trip partner ever." Brooke gushed.

"This is true." Haley laughed and picked up her ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Good morning sweetheart." Lydia said in a voice that was far too cheerful for 6:30 in the morning, even more so for the 3:30 time in California.

"Hi mom. What are you doing awake?" Haley asked.

"Talking to my favorite daughter, shhh don't tell the others. I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you and see how you are doing."

"Oh, well thank you. I am alright, just dealing with all of the emotions that come with today. It's a lot to deal with, you know."

"I know baby, but remember we are here for you no matter what. Obviously sleep isn't that important to us so you can call whenever." Lydia said and Jimmy snored loudly in the background. "Scratch that, you can call me whenever. You're father never stops sleeping. I swear he's 80 years old."

"I appreciate it mom, really. We're just driving now." Haley paused and looked over at Brooke who was smiling and waving. "Brooke says hi."

"Oh I miss that girl tell her hi back for me."

"She says hi back and she misses you." Haley relayed the message. "You know that you could have called me later on in the day, we're going to be on the road all day."

"What kind of mother would I be if I wasn't a part of the start of my daughter's college experience? Even across the country I am on top of my game. Are you guys getting to the school today or are you stopping before you get there?"

"We're going all the way to Boston, but I can't check in until tomorrow morning."

"Alright, drive safe and call us when you get there. I want to hear all about it. I love you sweetie."

"Will do. Love you too mom, I'll talk to you later." Haley said and hung up.

"How are the parents?" Brooke asked.

"Well the mom is good, the dad is even better because he is actually sleeping at 3:30 like he is supposed to. I'm happy that she called, but she should be sleeping."

"Oh, come on, do you really expect anything normal from your parents?" Brooke asked and Haley shook her head. "I didn't think so."

"You're right Brookie."

"As always." Brooke replied and started fiddling with the radio stations.

"Brookie…." Haley said, poking her best friend and waiting for her to wake up. It was Haley's turn to drive and they were about 10 minutes out of town. Brooke had fallen asleep but Haley wanted to experience this moment with her. "Brooke Davis, I know that you can hear me….wake up, please."

"Five more minutes Hales." Brooke mumbled. "I'm dreaming about my boyfriend."

"First of all, that explains the moaning. And second, stop dreaming and experience driving into your best friend's temporary hometown." Haley said and looked over at her with the best puppy dog face she could muster up.

"Ugh, fine. You are so lucky I love you." Brooke sighed and sat up.

"Oh whatever, you are going to be more excited than me, just wait." Haley said and looked down as her phone went off. "Hey Brooke, can you check my phone for me?"

Brooke picked up her phone and looked at the screen. She smirked and giggled a little. "It's from Nathan. Are you sure you want me to read this?"

"Haha, very funny. What did he say?"

"He just wants to know if we are here yet."

"Tell him just about."

"Yes ma'am." Brooke replied. "Am I texting for you now?"

"Only for the next few minutes. I can't text while driving Brooke."

"Alright, I guess I can suffer through this for now."

"Oh, how brave of you." Haley joked.

"Well I certainly try." Brooke smiled and looked out the window.

"Brooke! Look, it's my town!" Haley said and leaned forward over the steering wheel to get a better look.

"Ah! Hales, this is so exciting! I can't believe this is where you are going to live for the next four years!"

"I know, it's crazy but I can't wait. These are supposed to be the best years of my life."

"They will be, I am sure of it." Brooke said and squealed as she saw some of the shopping centers near the school. "I am so going to visit you all the time." She said and they both laughed, following behind Whitey and Camilla as they pulled up to the hotel.

"You girls go find a parking space and we'll go check in." Whitey said after walking up to their car.

"Please tell me that we are going to get something dinner related." Brooke asked.

"Yeah, we'll just get all set up then go out and find something to eat. Afterwards we will come back, get some sleep, and wake up in the morning all ready to move me in!" Haley said, the excitement building in her voice.

"Good because I am so hungry." Brooke said and both girls laughed.

Haley finished making her new bed and turned to evaluate her side of the room. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet so she picked the better side of the room, but to be fair she gave her the bigger closet despite Brooke's protests. All of her stuff was set up and it looked very Haley-like, from the stuffed bookshelf to the guitar sitting in the corner, and not a spot of pink, she was quite pleased with the way things turned out.

Brooke, Camilla, and Whitey had gone to make sure nothing was left in the car and had been gone for a while, leaving Haley to set things up the way she wanted to.

"Alright tutor girl, say bye to your grandparents so that we can spend an hour saying goodbye." Brooke said walking through Haley's open door.

Haley walked over and hugged Whitey first. "Bye Grandpa. Thanks for driving up here with me. Do me a favor and watch out for that crazy boy of mine, will you? I'll see you for Thanksgiving. I love you."

"You betcha silly girl. I love you too Bob." He smiled and shuffled her hair. "Be good and study hard."

Haley moved over to Camilla and smiled at her before wrapping her arms around her waist and holding tight. "I love you Grams. Make sure that you guys get home safely, and don't spoil Nathan please. His ego doesn't need to get any bigger than it already is. I promise I will call you with updates when I have some free time, ok?"

"I look forward to it. I love you sweetheart." Camilla replied, pulling her back in for another hug.

Haley backed up and turned to look at Brooke who already had tears in her eyes. "Brookie, you can't cry because if you start crying I am going to start crying then everyone who sees me will think of me as the weird crying girl." Haley laughed and hugged her best friend. They backed up and held each other at arm's length. "What am I going to do without my Brooke?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should just stay here with you. I'm sure your roommate wouldn't mind."

"Yeah, but your boyfriend would." Haley reminded her.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot about him. I would miss Julian way too much." Brooke sighed.

"Yes you would, but we will talk all the time. Remember that time you went to cheer camp and I came to visit my Grandparents? It will be just like that except a little longer. Besides, before you know it, winter break will be here and I will be back in California, ready to spend all my time with you and Julian."

"That better be true because I cannot spend too much time without my best friend. I will go through withdrawal." Brooke joked, smiling.

"I promise. Now get that cute little butt of yours out of here before we both ruin our make-up." Haley said and hugged her one more time. "I love you B. Davis."

"I love you too Tutor girl." She smiled and pulled away. Haley walked the three of them out to their car and waved until they were gone before walking back into her new room for the next year.

She sat down on her bed and noticed an envelope on the desk next to her. She picked it up and opened it to find a stack of pictures with a note on top.

_Hey best friend!_

_If you are reading this that means that we probably just left, unless you are really oblivious and didn't find it until way later. I went and got these developed while you were setting up your room. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy your first year of college. I know that you are going to tell me all about it. Here are some pictures to help you remember your summer. Some that you know about, and some that will surprise you. So take a look and let the memories run wild._

_Love you mucho!_

Haley smiled as she began to flip through the pictures. There were the ones that they had taken the morning before while getting ready to leave. There were some of Brooke making crazy faces. There were some of the five of them; Brooke, Haley, Nathan, Lucas, and Peyton. There were some of Haley with Camilla and Whitey. But mostly there were pictures of Nathan and Haley that Brooke had secretly taken over the last couple of days. They were looking into each other's eyes, hold hands, hugging, kissing, basically being really cute. Haley smiled as she stumbled upon another, smaller note.

_These last few are to make you smile _

Haley moved the note and saw a picture of Nathan standing in front of her, shirtless. It was right after he had given her his shirt and he looked good. Haley laughed at the thought of Brooke leaning out of the car to take the picture but was really happy that she did because this picture was definitely going up on her wall. The next picture was something that Haley hadn't realized that Brooke knew about.

_**Flashback:**_

"_**Hales, walk with me for a few minutes?" Nathan asked, walking up to the log where Haley, Brooke, and Peyton were sitting on the night that she returned to Tree Hill.**_

"_**Sure." She said and accepted his outstretched hand. They walked away from the group and Nathan led her over to the tree. "What's up?" She asked, curious as to why they were over here, not that she was complaining.**_

"_**Just hold on a minute." He said and pulled his pocket knife out.**_

"_**Are you going to kill me? Because there are quite a few people over there who wouldn't be very happy with you." She smiled.**_

"_**No, I am not going to kill you, dork." He smiled and began carving something into the tree. Haley peeked around to try to get a better look. "You can't look yet." He said and covered her eyes with his hand.**_

"_**Nathan! Just let me look, please." Haley tried to persuade him.**_

"_**Sorry, babe, one more second…..alright, you can look." He said and stepped back to observe his handiwork. "What do you think?"**_

_**Haley looked at their initials carved into the tree and smiled as she traced over them with her fingertips. She turned around and held her hand out. He gave her a confused look so she glanced down at the knife in his hand. He was still confused but he gave it to her anyway. She set to work, carving her own addition and trying to block his view but knowing that he could still see what she was doing. When she finished she stepped back and smiled shyly at him. He took the knife back, folded it up and put it in his pocket, and looked at the tree one more time before smiling and turning to her.**_

"_**I love you too." He said and kissed her.**_

Haley looked down at the picture with their initials carved inside a heart and her "I love you…." written next to it and smiled as a single tear left her cheek. She grabbed her phone and texted Brooke immediately.

_It's perfect, thank you._ She sent, knowing that Brooke would understand completely.

She cleaned herself up and just as she went back to sit down she heard the door open. In walked a tall, skinny brunette girl with the biggest smile on her face and she looked just as nervous and excited as Haley felt.

"Hi, I'm Haley." Haley said as she stood up and shook her hand. "You must be my roommate."

"Yeah, I'm Mia. It's nice to finally meet you. I love what you've done with your side of the room." She said, looking around and smiling.

"Thanks." Haley smiled and looked down to see a text from Nathan waiting for her. "If you need help with moving anything in let me know." She said before opening her phone and telling Nathan about the wonderful start to her day.

**As always, let me know what you think :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! So here's chapter 10...it's a little bit shorter than usual, but it is a fun chapter with some extra fun stuff. I hope you like it. **

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>"Chemistry book…chemistry book..GOD! Where did I put it? Haley have you seen my chem book?" Mia asked as she tore up her side of their shared dorm room. "Haley? Hales?" She turned around to see Haley blankly staring at her computer screen and not paying the least bit of attention to her so she grabbed a pillow off of her bed and threw it at her. Haley jumped and looked up.<p>

"What was that for?" She asked, picking up the pillow and slightly glaring at Mia. She loved the girl but she did some strange things sometimes.

"That was because you were ignoring me. Have you seen my chem book?" She asked once again.

"Yeah, your other class was cancelled so you left it in your bag." Haley said and got off her bed to grab a bagel. As she ripped a piece off and stuck it in her mouth she watched Mia pick up her bag and discover her missing book.

"Ah, there you are! Thanks Hales, I don't know what I would do without you. Now I have to go to class, but don't worry lover boy will talk to you soon." Mia winked and walked out of the room.

"Yeah I hope." Haley mumbled. Nathan had told her that he would be online about 30 minutes ago and that they should skype, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. She'd been in school for about a month and a half now and things had been going ok for them. She goes through her normal school routine every day and sure she thinks about him often, but she is able to focus on classes and work without getting distracted by her thoughts. They text and skype and call each other but she does miss feeling his arms wrapped around her and the way that he smells (the t-shirt smells more like her than it does him at this point) but most of all she misses the feeling she gets when they are in the same room. It is sort of a breathless/heart-racing/relaxed feeling that seems to involve every emotion in her body and while she knows it can't be healthy she can't seem to stop herself from feeling it.

She heard a knock on the door and stood up from her spot in front of the computer to answer it. When she opened the door there wasn't anyone in front of her so she was about to close the door but just as she was doing that a figure jumped out from beside the door and scared her. Bent over in front of her, laughing hysterically, was none other than a certain Scott boy. She hadn't seen him in a few weeks, and she was happy that he came to see her. After all, Lucas is one of her best friends.

"Seriously Luke? You almost gave me a heart attack." She said and smacked him as she let him in her room and closed the door.

"Sorry Hales, couldn't resist." He smiled and pulled her into a side hug. "So, how's my second favorite girl doing?"

"Not too bad. I don't have any classes today so my Friday would be very relaxing if your brother would just stick to the schedule that he set up." She sighed.

"Yeah, he has issues with that. What do you say to talking to him later and coming with me for a little while? There's someone back at my place who really wants to see you." Lucas suggested with the biggest smile he could.

"Peyton's in town? Of course I'm going to come with you." She smiled and started grabbing clothes to change into since she was still wearing her pajamas. She quickly went over to her computer and typed a message out to Nathan before going into the bathroom to get changed.

_Sorry that I missed you…Lucas is taking me out…I guess we'll talk later. I love you…._

"You ready?" Haley asked as she walked out of the bathroom and threw her clothes on her bed.

"Yes ma'am." Lucas responded and stuck his arm out so that she could loop hers with his. "We're going to have fun today, don't worry about Nate ok."

"I know. I'll just talk to him later, it's not a big deal." Haley brushed off the conversation in favor of starting a new one. "So why didn't Peyton come with you to pick me up?"

"I never said that it was Peyton who wanted to see you." Lucas said trying to hide a smile.

"Oh, come on, who else could it be? You are a terrible liar, Luke. I appreciate that you are trying to surprise me, but I know it is Peyton." Haley countered.

"Ok, you got me. Peyton didn't want to come because she wanted to clean up my mess at the house before you got there. I told her that you wouldn't mind but she insisted."

"She didn't have to do that. I've got older brothers, I know how guys live. I wish she would have just come with you."

"I know, I told her, but she said something about how it wasn't a good idea to have stuff all over the floor with your clumsy butt coming to visit." He joked and bumped his hips into hers, causing her to stumble slightly.

"Hey, that was completely unnecessary." She exclaimed. "Besides, my clumsiness has improved greatly since I got to school. I rarely fall down now."

"Well I am so proud of you." He said and stopped in front of his car. "Now get in so we can go." She laughed and got in the passenger side immediately buckling and searching the radio for a good, commercial-free channel. She settled on a classic rock station and let the songs from the past run through her ears as she leaned her head back and relaxed. "So how are you doing Hales? It's been a little while since I last talked with you."

"I'm alright. I mean I have my moments where I get a little sad, maybe homesick, but for the most part I am happy. I love my classes and being on campus is really nice. Besides, I can always call my friends if I need a good pick-me-up."

"Are you sure? I just want you to know that you can call me any time you want and if you need anything I am so close that I can be there for you if you need me." Lucas said and looked away from the road to show her he was serious.

"I know Luke, but I do also have to lean on the friends that I have made at school. Mia is great and I can talk to her, I realize that it's not the same, but I still need to be able to get through life on my own if need be. I can't always be relying on the people around me. Besides, I'm at a good spot in my life. I'm in college, I've got the best friends I could ask for, I have a good job at school, and I have a great boyfriend."

"Good. I am happy that you are happy." He smiled.

"How about you? Are you happy with your life right now?" She asked.

"Peyton's here." He smiled and winked. "I'm really happy."

"Ok, if you are implying anything, that is just gross. I'm happy for you and all, but you don't need to over share." Haley joked.

"Oh come on, you know that I didn't mean it like that. Get your mind out of the gutter James." Lucas shook his head and pulled into an open parking spot in front of the house that he shared with three of his teammates. "Hey, I am warning you in advance the guys have been playing NBA live all morning so they are probably still doing that. Just step over them if they get in your way." Lucas said as he opened the door to reveal four guys sitting on the couch with their backs to the door. "Guys, you remember Haley."

They mumbled their hellos and lazily waved without turning around.

"Jake, Skills, Eric, Nathan it's nice to see you all again." She said and started to turn toward the kitchen when she realized who was there and turned back around. "Wait, Nathan! What are you doing here?" She asked excitedly, rushing toward him as he was now standing up with a full grin on his face.

"Hi baby." He said as he picked her up and hugged her tight to him. "You look good." He smiled.

"Thanks." She smiled back and leaned in to kiss him but was interrupted by a few coughs coming from the couch next to them. "Sorry boys." She said and grabbed Nathan's hand, leading him away from the group. "Oh, you weren't playing were you?" She asked.

"Nope, just pretending." He smirked.

"You just wanted to trick me didn't you?" She asked and he nodded. "That wasn't very nice, but I forgive you anyway because you are here. Why is it that you are here again?"

"I'm here because I am on Fall Break and I had two options: go spend break at home with my parents, or come see the most beautiful girl I know for a couple days. I started driving here as soon as practice was over. It took me all night, but it was worth it." He smiled and moved some of her hair behind her ear. "I missed you."

"You don't even know." She said and pulled on his hand again as she started to walk away from the crowded living room.

"Where are we going?" He asked, following along.

"Just go with it, you'll see." She said and looked back at him with a mischievous look on her face. She led him up the stairs and walked all the way down the hall until she had reached their game room. She pushed him inside then turned and locked the door.

"I like where this is going." He smirked and grabbed onto her hips before trapping her between him and the door. She laughed and looked up at him with her big eyes as he took one hand and gently cupped her cheek. He leaned down and forcefully took her lips between his own. She kissed back just as forcefully until she began to feel weak in the knees. As if he knew what she was feeling his hands left their spots on her hips and face and trailed down her legs until they were just above her knees. Then, without warning, he grabbed on and pulled her legs up so that they wrapped around his waist. She let out a surprised squeal and a little giggle then smiled down at him. He smiled back and started walking further into the room with her still wrapped around him. He finally settled on a spot right in front of the pool table and set her on top of it but refused to let her move even an inch away from him.

"You know, if you had just come to my dorm room we could have been alone this whole time. Mia has class for the next few hours." Haley smirked. "But, instead you chose to trick me and come see that older brother of yours."

"Yeah, well I have to stay somewhere and I have a feeling that Harvard isn't too big on freshman girls having older guys stay the night in their rooms." He countered and leaned even closer to her, placing a kiss right underneath her jawbone.

"Oh, they aren't but what they don't know won't hurt them and I am very. very. sneaky." She said and enunciated each word with a kiss.

"Well, in that case, I haven't unpacked yet. I could always just go back with you tonight. I'm stuck on the couch here anyway. Unless you wanted to share the couch with me." He proposed.

"Hm, let me think about it. No." She smiled. "My room is much better, and besides Mia has some secret boyfriend that she is always sneaking off to see and she rarely stays in the room anymore."

"You are making your room sound better and better every minute."

"Don't I know it, now stop talking and get back to kissing me." She ordered and he playfully saluted before resuming their previous activities.

"Hey Nate," Haley said softly as she lay on top of him in her bed later that night. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah baby. What's up?" He asked concerned. He couldn't see her face but he could tell that something was going through her head.

"I'm happy you're here. I'd missed this." She sighed, drawing imaginary figures on his chest with her finger.

"Me too."

"Me too? That's all you have to say?" She asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Nevermind, it's not important." She tried to drop the conversation.

"Hales, if you brought it up it is important. Tell me what you were thinking."

"It's nothing really. Just I mean I love that I get to hear your voice and even see your face but I miss the feeling of this, having you next to me. I hate that your shirt smells like me, not you, and I hate that I am feeling like this. I love you and you love me, that should be enough. Why am I being so greedy about this?"

"Hey, I miss all that stuff too, and guess what me loving you is enough because I've never loved anything or anyone more than I love you. So we don't have everything perfect, so what. So my shirt smells like you, I'll give you a new one. We can roll with the changes because we love each other. You're greedy because when someone wants something they want all of it, but guess what our time is coming, you'll see. Besides, I didn't say too much earlier because I'm more a man of action." He winked. "You saw that earlier."

She looked up at him and leaned in for another kiss. This time, she took control and intensified it. He smirked and pulled back slightly to look into her eyes.

"Woah, babe, I know my recovery time is fast but I would appreciate a few extra minutes of rest." He joked and she lightly shoved him.

"Watch it Scott, or I'll be sleeping in Mia's bed." She threatened and smiled when he pulled her body flush against his.

"Not a chance." He said as he rubbed her back. "What time is it now?" He asked, wondering how long they'd been like this.

She grabbed his wrist and turned it so that she could see the face of his watch. "Almost 3:00 A.M. We should probably go to sleep soon. We've got breakfast over at Luke's in about five hours."

"Do we really have to go to that? I love my brother and all, but I would rather have you all to myself." He asked and kissed her bare shoulder.

"While I appreciate that, yes we do. It was his one condition for letting me have you stay here. Besides, I barely got to see Peyton today and I really want to spend some time with her. You'll have fun as soon as you get to spend time with the guys, you will see." She said and sat up. She reached down and picked up his t-shirt from the floor.

"Where are you going?" He asked, reaching for her waist to pull her back.

She stood up just before he could reach her and pulled the shirt over her body, watching as his gaze roamed her form. "I have to pee, I'll be back." She smiled and disappeared into the bathroom that she shared with Mia and the girls in the room next to them. She came back out to find Nathan sitting up holding a present.

"What's this?" She asked her curiosity piqued.

"Well, I wasn't here for your birthday. I know that it was a while ago, but this has been sitting around in my room. Happy 18th birthday Hales." He smiled and handed her the box as she sat next to him.

She quickly peeled back the paper and opened up the lid of the box and inside were two things: A UNC shirt with his name and number on it, and two plane tickets. She looked at them closer and saw that they were to Tree Hill for Thanksgiving weekend.

"Now, those are a joint gift." He said and she gave him a confused look. "I paid for them, but Brooke is going to fly out here with you, then you two are going to fly to Tree Hill together. Also, your parents are going to already be at your grandparents' house as well as your siblings. That is just going to be the place to be this holiday season." He smiled.

"What did I do to deserve you?" She asked, smiling.

"That." He nodded toward her. "All you had to do was smile at me and I was hooked."

Her smile got even bigger and she set her stuff on her desk before climbing back up onto the bed with him. She gave him a quick kiss before turning around in his arms and cuddling up to him.

"I love you." She sighed as she let sleep overcome her.

"I love you too baby." He said and did the same.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok so it's been a while…I know. But inspiration has to strike. Lucky for you guys I took advantage of my stroke of inspiration and wrote out an outline for the next couple chapters. I know, I'm stepping up in this world. I can tell you that things are going to be a little different for a while, sorry for that. However, it is necessary to the story…Without further ado, sit back and read some good stuff (not to toot my own horn) **

**Enjoy :)**

"Wow! I never realized how much I hated school until I actually had to stay awake through my classes!" Mia said as she sat down at a table with Haley for lunch. The cafeteria was pretty empty at the time considering lunch was almost over and the rush had left.

"Have you been sleeping through your classes all semester?" Haley asked.

"Well, only the ones that I don't like. I am always awake during my music classes, but anything general-ed required sucks so I take little naps. Now we have midterms though so I need to pay attention."

"Oh, and how is that working out for you?" Haley laughed.

"It would be so much better if I weren't distracted. How am I supposed to focus on philosophy when I am texting my boyfriend?" Mia asked, smiling. Haley had played detective and figured out that Mia was dating Jake and that they had been hiding it from everyone for a while. Haley had invited Mia to have dinner at Luke's house one night, they met and hit it off pretty quickly. Now they were almost inseparable. "I mean seriously Hales, how do you pay attention when thinking about Nathan?"

"Look, I know that you are all lovestruck right now, but you need to know that you will be perfectly fine not talking to him during class. So I suggest putting the phone down and listening to what your teacher has to say. It might help your grades out a little bit." Haley smiled. "And if you can't do that, remember that your wonderful roommate was a tutor in high school and she can be bribed with food and compliments."

"Really? Ah Hales did I ever tell you that you are my favorite roommate?"

"Huh, that's funny considering that I am your only roommate. Plus, remember that we only have three more days of classes before break starts. After that you are free to go home and I get to go see my very favorite people, besides you of course."

"See, I knew that talking to you would cheer me up." Mia smiled.

"So you ladies are roommates?" A guy with hipster glasses, short blond hair, and cowboy boots asked as he stood next to their table.

"Yeah, we are." Haley responded. "And who are you?"

"The name's Chris Keller and I noticed you two sitting by yourselves over so I figured I would grace you with my presence and eat with you." He said and took a seat. "How's today's lunch? Any good?"

The girls lightly giggled at the strange guy who just sat down with them before getting back to eating their own lunches.

Nathan tried his best to focus on the lecture that his teacher was giving, but the fact that his phone was vibrating in his pocket was extremely distracting. He let it go for the usual 3 pulses that indicated a text, but when it kept going after that he knew it was a call. Thinking that it was probably Haley he let himself stand up and walk into the hallway to answer his call. He hadn't talked with her in a day or two and didn't even bother checking the screen to make sure it was in fact his girlfriend calling because he was that eager to talk to her.

"Hey. I haven't talk to you in a while." He joked, his voice light.

"I know, I didn't even expect you to answer the phone." The voice said, but this was not the voice that Nathan had been expecting to hear. This voice was serious, deeper, and a voice that Nathan would always remember.

"What do you want Dan?" Nathan asked, any hint of happiness gone from his voice. He heard a pause on the other end and took the opportunity to speak. "Dan, I swear to God I will hang up on you so get what you have to say out and you can be out of my life for good."

"Now hold on, just hear me out." Dan said, sounding desperate.

"You have five minutes."

"I want to get together with you and your brother. I tried to call him, but he wouldn't answer and I was hoping that you could somehow manage to arrange a meeting."

"Why would I want to do that? You walked out on us, you don't get to just waltz back in whenever you want."

"I have some critical information for you both and it is not something that I feel should be said over the phone. Please, I just need a few minutes of your time. One meeting, that's all I ask."

"That's a lot to ask from us after what happened."

"Please son. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but the two that I wish I could take back are driving that day and walking out of that hospital, never planning to return." Dan said and Nathan swore he heard the sounds of soft crying.

"Uh, fine, I will talk to Lucas. But I can't guarantee anything and if this happens we get to decide when, where, and for how long. Do you understand?" Nathan asked, running his free hand over his freshly buzzed hair.

"Yes, just call me back at this number. And Nathan, thank you."

"Bye Dan." Nathan said and hung up his phone. He looked back toward the door to his classroom, no longer wanting to have to sit and listen to his teacher talk and sent his teammate a quick text asking if he could bring his stuff to him later on. He then sighed, realizing what he had to do, and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello?" Lucas answered on the second ring.

"Hey Luke." Nathan replied.

"Nate, what's up? You seem kind of down. You and Haley are ok, right?"

"Why is that the first thing that comes to your head when I seem upset? Yes, Haley and I are great, I am going to see her in a few days. But we need to talk."

"Me and you, 'we' or you and Haley, 'we'?"

"You and me Luke. I know about the calls you've been getting," Nathan paused, "from Dan."

"Oh, how'd you know about that? Did Peyton tell you?"

"No, Peyton didn't tell me. Dan told me, when he called me today. Why didn't you tell me?" Nathan was upset and hurt. As soon as Dan's voice came through the receiver he was trying to figure this conversation out in his head and what he would say.

"Look, I didn't want you to know because I didn't want to get you involved in this. I was trying to protect you from Dan's crap." Lucas explained and Nathan could sense the frustration in his voice.

"Why? Because I can't handle myself? Well I'll tell you what, I can handle myself just fine considering I just had a ten minute conversation with him while he apologized and cried and asked to see us. So guess what Luke, I am making the decision this time and the both of us are going to see our ass of a father."

"Why? All he has done is hurt our family. I never want to see the man again."

"Weren't you the one, just a few months ago, who wanted to chase him down and practically kill him? Now I'm not suggesting that we do that, but I would like to hear what he has to say for himself. Maybe we can move on, once and for all." Nathan explained.

"Listen Nate, you do what you want. See him, don't see him, but whatever you do keep me out of it because I'm not going."

"Luke-"

"I'll talk to you later." Lucas cut him off and the line went dead.

Nathan slammed his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket. He was in serious need of some stress relief so he started jogging to the gym. He was going to go shoot around until somehow, miraculously he felt better. The amount of time that it took him to relax was different with each problem. He figured that today would probably take at least an hour. So he grabbed a ball and got to work. He shot ball after ball and when he'd shot them all he went and picked them up only to move around and shoot some more. When he'd finally relaxed he went and sat on the bleachers. He pulled out his phone to make one last call for the day to the one person that he wanted to talk to more than anyone else. He dialed her number and leaned forward on his knees with one hand holding the phone to his ear and the other holding the bridge of his nose.

The phone kept ringing and ringing until he heard the not-so-familiar "Hi! You've reached Haley James. I'm not here right now so you should tell the machine what you want and it will pass on the message." He sighed and waited for the beep.

"Hey Hales I just wanted to talk but I guess you're busy. Just give me a call when you get the chance. Love you babe." He hung up and stood up, walking out of his place of peace back to the real world where he would have to face his demons.

Haley sat in her Chemistry class waiting for the teacher to get there. She liked to get to class early so that she could sit where she wanted. She'd stopped being a front row kind of person but wasn't quite a back of the class kind of girl either so she always settled into the third row, right next to the wall so that she could comfortably lean against it. This seat arrangement was working out pretty well for her so far. However, the person in the seat next to her changed day to day depending on who arrived earlier to class. Haley looked up to see who was walking toward her, ready to take that seat. Today, that lucky person was Chris Keller.

"Well hello there Haley. Bet you didn't know that Chris Keller was in your class, did you?" He smirked and plopped down in his seat, putting his feet up on the chair in front of him. "I mean otherwise we definitely would have been together this whole time. Sitting together I mean."

Haley rolled her eyes and chuckled. "No, Chris I didn't know that you were in this class, but that might have something to do with the fact that I have been paying attention to the teacher."

"Eh that's overrated. I just get my notes from the TA. I bribed him with free CDs. I work at the record store just off campus. You should stop by some time, maybe I'll give you the girlfriend discount."

"Oh, well you see I'm not your girlfriend. So I would just feel guilty taking that lovely discount away from some lucky girl who you have yet to find."

"Who says I haven't found her? I'm sitting next to you, aren't I?" Chris winked.

"Ok, look Chris, it's not that I don't appreciate this slightly weird form of flattery, but I do have a boyfriend." Haley explained and picked up his arm which he had slowly placed on her shoulders and put it back on his lap.

"What's his name? Maybe I know him."

"His name is Nathan, and he doesn't go here. He lives in North Carolina." Haley explained and smiled as she thought about Nathan.

"Out of sight, out of mind." He pointed.

"Sorry buddy, but I love him and you can't get between that." Haley laughed at his slightly deflected expression.

"Ok, I can respect that, but that doesn't mean that I'm giving up hope. A guy can always dream." He smiled and when Haley was about to respond he put his finger to his lips and pointed out that the teacher had just walked into the room. She shook her head and listened attentively for the next hour until class was over.

"Chris, oh my god, will you please just give it a break? We have to read two chapters. Get over it." Haley said as they entered her dorm room where Mia was sitting on her bed, tuning her guitar. Chris had complained the whole way back from class about what the teacher lectured on, how much homework they have to do, and how hungry he is. He'd made Haley promise that she would go sit with him during dinner so she made sure to get Mia first because there was only so much Chris Keller that she could handle by herself.

"Hey guys." Mia smiled. "How was class?" She hadn't had any classes since lunch so her day was filled with doing whatever she wanted.

"Oh it was just fantastic. Did you know that Chris and I have class together? Neither did I." Haley responded.

"Oh that sounds like fun." Mia smirked. "And why is Chris Keller in our room?"

"Don't you worry Mia, I know that you wanted to spend time with me too so we came back to get you before dinner. Now get your butt off your bed and put that wonderful piece of machinery in a safe place so we can go get our grub on." He said and started drumming with his hands on the doorway and down the hall as he started to walk away. "Let's go ladies." He yelled back at them.

"Uh! Let's just go before he comes back and drags us along with him." Haley said and grabbed her keys as she headed out the door.

"When did he become our friend?" Mia asked, closing the door unaware of the fact that Haley's phone was ringing on her desk as a picture of Nathan flashed across the screen.

"I think he decided on that just today actually." Haley smiled and felt around her pockets. "Oh, crap I forgot my phone. I'll be right back."

"Haley, no, you don't need your phone to eat and I am starving. Don't you dare back out on your promise now." Chris said, pointing at her.

"Ok, I guess you're right. It's not like it takes all that long to eat anyway, right?" She asked and Mia nodded.

"Did we really just sit in the cafeteria for over an hour?" Mia asked when they walked back into the room.

"Unfortunately, yes. Who would have known that Chris Keller could talk that much?" Haley sighed.

"Or that he would just start singing to random girls walking by?" Mia laughed.

"Oh shit." Haley said as she put the password for her voicemail into her phone. "I missed a call from Nathan, over an hour ago. I have to call him back."

"Ok, well Jake is actually taking me out for dessert so you can have the room. I'll see you later." Mia said and winked as she left the room.

Haley sighed and called him back. However, his phone didn't even ring, it just went straight to voicemail.

"Hi Nate. Sorry I missed your call. I was at dinner with some friends and I forgot my phone in the room. I guess we're playing a bit of phone tag…you're it. Is something wrong? You sounded tired. Call me soon, I'll be up for a while tonight. I love you." She sighed and closed the phone.

**Let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Next chapter! Yay! I've been hit with the inspiration stick apparently and I am just writing like crazy. Get at me laziness….Oh, that's right, you can't because I am inspired! Haha, I am such a dork. Anyway….I hope that you still like the story and that you will like the chapter. **

**Enjoy :)**

Haley was in a funk. She hadn't really talked to Nathan in a couple days and she could tell something was off. They were essentially playing phone tag and since she couldn't get a hold of him that way she decided texting was her best option. They had short texting conversations, but nothing substantial was said; just the usual "I miss you" and "I'll talk to you later I have class."

So, she decided to take to her bed. There's nothing she finds more relaxing than laying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling when she feels stressed. Every few minutes she checks the phone that she has in a death grip, waiting to get a call from him but half expecting that he won't even bother calling. Just when she's about to give up she sees the screen light up and hears her ringtone begin before she eagerly presses the talk button.

"Hi Nate!" She says enthusiastically, any hint of her previous funk gone.

"Hey. You're happy." He comments half-heartedly.

"Well I get to talk to you, don't I?" She smiles but takes in his reserved tone and dials it down. "You don't sound very happy though. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I mean I am happy that I get to talk to you. Practices have just been tough lately so I'm a little tired. That's all."

"Nathan, don't lie to me. I know you pretty well at this point and you don't sound tired, you sound stressed."

"You're right, but I don't want to talk about it right now. Can I just enjoy listening to the beautiful voice of my girlfriend and maybe we can talk about that later."

"Ok, but don't think that I am going to let it go. It's not good for you to keep things bottled up the way that you do." She said, concerned. She feels like he is trying to cut himself off from the rest of the world and that is something that she won't let happen.

"Thank you. Now, tell me something."

"What do you want to hear?" She asked, picking at a piece of lint on her comforter.

"I don't know, surprise me."

"Well, I could be really cheesy and tell you that I love you." She paused. "Or, I could tell you that I am going to meet Brooke at the airport tonight, then we are flying to Tree Hill and I will be there before the sun comes up tomorrow."

"Hmm, I like both of those things."

"I knew you would." She smiled. "What have you been up to? I feel like we haven't talked in a while."

"Yeah, I know. I could try and blame it on school and basketball, but honestly I just haven't wanted to talk recently." He sighed.

"Oh. I understand." She said quietly.

"It's not that I don't want to talk to you, please know that, it's just that I don't want to talk to anyone right now. There's just so much shit going on and I am going to put off dealing with it for as long as possible." He explained.

"I get it Nate, I do, but when you want to talk I am here. You aren't alone in this, whatever it is."

"Thanks babe, like I said earlier, maybe in a little while but for right now can we just go back to how we were at the beginning?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, not sure exactly what he was talking about.

"Do you remember how it was when we first met? When we talked all the time and we would just joke around and flirt shamelessly and be so excited to see each other? I want to go back to that, if only for a few minutes." He said.

"Ok, well, I suppose we can do that. I mean it's going to be torture for me to flirt with you though." She smiled.

"Oh, I hope you can manage."

"You have no idea how difficult it is going to be, but I'll do it for you. I'm just that nice of a person."

"Well thank you, beautiful."

"You are very welcome handsome." She smiled and let the comfortable silence wash over her.

"So, what are you wearing right now?" He asked and she could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Are you really asking me that?" She asked and looked down at her outfit. She was wearing one of his sweatshirts and some yoga pants with her hair pulled up.

"Yep, and due to our previously agreed upon shameless flirting, you must answer the question. So what is Haley James? Jeans and a t-shirt? A cute sundress? Pajamas? Nothing?" He asked.

"Oh, you caught me. I'm actually sitting in my room naked right now."

"Really?" He asked, the excitement rising in his voice.

"No, I'm wearing your sweatshirt and some yoga pants. Sorry to disappoint." She laughed.

"Huh, well a guy can dream, right? And besides that's still pretty hot."

"Oh yeah?"

"Definitely."

"Hmmm well I was planning on dressing up for tomorrow, but maybe I'll just wear this on the plane." She joked.

"Wear whatever you want. You'll make anything look good."

"Thanks baby, but I think I'll still dress up. Brooke is going to be with me after all and if I am not up to her fashion criteria she will ignore me the whole ride or at least until I change my clothes."

"Brooke sure is a character."

"This is true, but I love her anyway." She paused. "So, my wonderful boyfriend, I am so very excited to see you."

"Me too. That means that I get Camilla's cooking again." He smiled.

"You say the nicest things to me Nathan Scott."

"Well I mean I am like the best boyfriend ever. I have a list of people who will confirm that."

"Oh really? Anyone I know?" She asked, playing along.

"Nah, just some girls here. No one special. I mean I don't want to get tied down to any one person too soon." He joked.

"Is that right? You'd think you would have mentioned something about that by now. I guess I'm just one of the many right now."

"Yeah, but don't worry, you're definitely top five." He laughed.

"Well good, I feel so special right now."

"Why are you so awesome?"

"I ask myself that question every day actually, but I haven't come up with an answer yet. Feel free to help me out with that." She smiled.

"I would have to say that it's just because you are, simple as that."

"Aw thanks Nate, you're pretty awesome yourself. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Mia dragged me to a party the other day."

"Haley James at a party? Alert the presses. Am I even going to recognize you when you get here?" He asked, perking up a little bit.

"Haha, very funny. Anyway, so we were at this party and I hear all this noise behind me so I turn to see Lucas punch some guy and knock him out. I rushed over to him to ask what happened. I mean I didn't even know he was there until that moment. He just shook it off and told me not to worry about it. He's been in kind of a weird mood recently. Things are ok with him and Peyton, right?"

"Yeah, they're still good. That's not what's bothering him. I'll see if I can talk to him about it."

"Wait, you know what's going on?"

"Well, yeah, I kind of have something to do with it."

"Is this what's been stressing you out too?" Haley asked. There was a loud knock at the door and she sighed before getting up to answer it.

"Yeah. I guess we can talk about it now."

"Hold that thought for two seconds Nate. Mia forgot her keys so I have to let her in." She said and pulled the phone away from her ear as she opened the door. Except she didn't reveal a forgetful roommate, but a dressed up Chris Keller.

"Hey Hales, mind if I come in?" He asked.

"Um, actually, I'm a little busy right now." Haley responded, trying not to be rude but at the same time trying to get rid of him.

"Ok, that's cool. In that case I'll just say what I came here to say and then you can get back to your afternoon." He winked. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me. I know that you have a boyfriend, but he doesn't have to know. Come on, babe, you know you want to." He leaned in closer and whispered the last part.

"Ok, first of all, don't call me babe. Second, no I won't go out with you because I love my boyfriend and I wouldn't do that to him. So I guess you will have to go find some other girl to help you out there buddy. I'll see you later Chris." She sighed and closed the door on him. She heard him complaining through the door and asking her to open it again but she just ignored him and lifted the phone back to her ear. "Sorry about that Nate. Go ahead." She said and waited for him to start his story. "Nate? Hey, you still there?" She waited again but when there was no response she pulled the phone away and noticed that her background was up, not the call screen. She pulled up the call history and found that the call had been ended about a minute prior. Figuring it had been dropped due to bad reception in her room she re-dialed and waited for him to answer. When she heard his voicemail she ended the call and sent a quick text.

_I guess something came up…I'll see you tomorrow :D_

She heard the sound of a key in the door and turned to see Mia walking in. "Haley, why is Chris Keller moping in our hallway?"

"Because I closed the door on him." Haley sighed.

"Oh, well, why did you do that?" She asked cautiously because she could tell that Haley seemed frustrated.

"He asked me out and I told him no." Haley stated as she began to check over her suitcase to make sure everything was there.

"Ah I see. Closing the door in his face would be my first reaction too." She smiled and laughed when there was another knock on the door.

"Haley, I'll let you pick where we go. I'll even pay." He said through the door again.

Haley just shook her head and walked over to the door, opening it just a crack. She made eye contact with him and gestured for him not to talk when he opened his mouth. "Ok Chris, here's the thing I am not really in the mood to deal with you right now and because of that it is very likely that you will get yelled at if you don't leave. So, I would suggest that you get out of here and try to forget about asking me out because it's not going to happen." She said. He slowly turned to walk away and the thought of saying something crossed his features, but he resisted the urge and did as he was told. Haley closed the door and slide down it to sit on the floor.

"Rough day?" Mia asked from her bed.

"Just long and confusing. It's almost over though and I am so excited to get to Tree Hill. I can't wait to see my family."

"And?" Mia pried.

"Well, yeah, of course and Nathan." Haley said as if it were a given and completely unnecessary to say.

"There we go, I found the source of your stress. What has lover boy done this time?" Mia asked, moving closer to Haley as she spoke.

"Nothing. I'm just being weird. We had a perfectly nice conversation today, on the phone I might add. We were both actually free at the same time for once."

"See, that's good. You should be happy, not stressed." Mia pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess, it's just that I had to put the phone down for a second and when I picked it back up, he'd hung up on me." Haley explained, the same confused look on her face. "I mean something must have come up that couldn't wait. I'm confused, that's all, but I'll get it all cleared up tomorrow for sure."

"Good, I'm glad that you're setting things straight." Mia commented. "So, what time are you leaving for the airport?"

"Well, it's what, 5:30 now?" Mia nodded. "Brooke's flight gets in at about 7:00 and it takes like half an hour to get to the airport. So I'll be leaving soon. I want to stop and get something to eat first. Plus I have to go through security and all of that." Haley explained.

"Ok, sounds good. Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off?"

"Yeah. It's just easier, now you don't have to worry about coming to pick me up." Haley smiled and explained.

"Alright, if you insist." Mia agreed. "But don't say I didn't offer."

"I won't." Haley laughed. "So are you going to Jake's house first, or is he coming to yours?"

"He's going home, but after Thanksgiving he is going to come visit me. Then I am going back to his house with him before we come back to school." She smiled.

"Oooh, big step, meeting the parents. Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I mean based off how great he is, his parents have to be pretty great themselves."

"That's good, but also not what I meant. How are _your_ parents going to react?"

"Good question, considering that I haven't told them that he's my boyfriend."

"What? What did you tell them then?"

"Nothing, just that a friend might come visit me over break. I figure I'll deal with it when I get home. My dad isn't a big fan of me dating and I think it'll be better if I tell him in person."

"Ok, if that's what you think is best." Haley said and held up her hands.

"Well, what about you? This is the first time that Nathan is officially meeting your parents, are you nervous?"

"Surprisingly, no. I know that he is an amazing guy, my parents know that he loves me and that I love him, and they understand that we are happy. They are happy for me, and that's what counts." Haley smiled.

"Good. I know that they'll love him anyway. He's a very likeable guy. I approve anyway."

"Thanks." She said and stood up. "I guess I better get going." Mia nodded and walked over to hug her roommate goodbye. "I'll let you know when I get there." Haley told her and picked up her bag.

"You better. Have fun, be safe, and tell lover boy hi for me." Mia said, walking behind Haley and waving as she walked down the hall.

Haley stood outside the gate that Brooke's plane just arrived at. She was anxiously awaiting seeing her best friend again and each minute seemed as if it were an hour. As people exited the giant door that connects the passageway to the airport she stood up on her toes, trying to see around everyone else and spot the bubbly brunette.

"Excuse me, do you know where the nearest bathroom is?" Someone asked, tapping her shoulder from behind.

Haley turned around and smiled. "Yeah, it's just around the corner," she said, pointing "that way." They nodded and thanked her before turning to walk in that direction. Just as Haley was about to get back to her search she heard a voice behind her once again.

"Well, well, it looks like my best friend does love me after all." Brooke commented and squealed when Haley jumped and lunged toward her. They stood there hugging and jumping up and down for about a minute before realizing that they should move out of everyone else's way.

"Brooke Davis, you don't know how much I missed you." Haley smiled as she picked her bag back up and they started to head to a small airport restaurant in order to waste time before their flight.

"Oh, I think I do, considering that I missed you quite a bit best friend." She replied. "But now we get to spend so much time together and get all caught up. How's school?"

"It's pretty much the same since the last time I talked to you." Haley laughed. "Oh, except Chris Keller has been coming around like crazy lately."

"Really? Well that doesn't really surprise me based off of what you told me, but still he shouldn't be all over you. You did tell him about Nathan, right?" Brooke asked, curious.

"Yeah, of course I did, but he says that long-distance boyfriends are meant to be stolen from."

"What? He's ridiculous! Tell him that he's being a tool and he needs to get over himself."

"I basically did today, when he asked me out." Haley quietly added the last part.

"He what? Haley tell me that boy didn't ask you out."

Haley nodded. "I was on the phone with Nathan at the time too, but he hung up some time during our conversation."

"Hales, you have got a terrible situation going for you right now. You need to get away from Chris Keller for awhile." Brooke advised.

"I know, trust me. He's bad news, but I feel like he could also be a good friend. He just has to accept that he's in the friend zone and that it's never going to change."

"Good, because I am team Nathan all the way." Brooke smiled.

"Huh, that's weird because I would think that my best friend would be on team Haley. Interesting." Haley commented.

"Oh shut up, you know that I am on your side, no matter what." Brooke said and lightly shoved Haley's shoulder. "Hoes over Bros, remember?"

"Hoes over Bros." Haley agreed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"God, you're so cheesy." Brooke laughed. "Now let's eat and then go see your family so we can start giving thanks and all that."

"Let's go." Haley smiled.

**Let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello again. This must be some sort of record for me, getting so many chapters out within these last few weeks. I feel so good about this story. Now I know that most of you won't be very happy for a little bit, but know that I am not happy either. So I am working on fixing all of this as soon as possible. Please continue to read this please because it is going to be amazing later on. I hope you still like the story…**

**Enjoy:)**

"Brian, would you look at them? Two college girls, walking through the airport with such confidence, they are so grown up." Camilla commented as she nudged Whitey awake. He'd fallen asleep while they waited for Haley and Brooke in the airport lobby.

"Uh-huh, all grown up." He mumbled his response and stood to go greet them and help carry their bags out to the car. "Hello ladies." He smiled and gave each of them a hug.

"Hi Grandpa. Thanks for picking us up." Haley smiled and hugged Camilla. "Hi Grams."

"Hi beautiful." She said and hugged Brooke before they all started walking out of the airport. "How was your flight, girls?"

"It was nice. It didn't take very long, sorry for making you stay up so late to get us." Haley apologized. It was now midnight and they still had about a 30 minute drive back to the house.

"Don't mention it. We would be here at three in the morning if that is meant getting to pick you up." Camilla commented.

"Well thank you guys." Brooke said. "I am very happy to be spending Thanksgiving with all of you."

"Not that I mind, I am happy to have you here with us, but why aren't you spending Thanksgiving with your family dear?" Camilla asked.

"Ah, the Davis' aren't big on celebrating things together. We're more of a pass-by-and-say-hi-sort of family." Brooke explained. "Besides, ever since I can remember, Haley and I always spend Thanksgiving together."

"Sorry to hear that, but you are definitely always welcome at the Durham house." Whitey commented.

"Thanks guys." Brooke said. "Now, who's all going to be here with us?"

"Well, when we get back to the house it will just be us. Lydia and Jimmy don't get here until tomorrow morning and they are renting a car so we won't have to pick them up. Nathan said he'll get to the house as soon as possible. He should be in town sometime tonight, and considering Haley's here he will probably stop by the house. Lucas was supposed to come, but Peyton invited him to her house for the holiday, so he's going there instead. That's all, as far as I know." Camilla explained.

"Sounds like a good group of people to me." Haley commented.

Camilla just smiled back at her as they got in the car. "Alright girls, we've got about 30 minutes in the car, so relax and enjoy. We'll be home as soon as possible."

Thirty minutes, right on the dot, and they were pulling into the driveway. Haley smiled as she looked at the familiar house and let the memories wash over her.

"Home sweet home." Camilla said and climbed out of the car. "Now, I hope you girls don't mind, but the old folks are going to get some sleep. We've got a lot going on in these next few days and we need to be well rested."

"Oh, of course we don't mind. Get some sleep, we'll see you guys in the morning. Love you." Haley said and hugged her grandparents before helping Brooke get their bags from the back of the car. "I know that you're pretty tired too, so if you want to go to sleep go right ahead. I think I'm going to stay up for a little while." Haley told Brooke.

"Hales, are you sure?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. I mean I don't want to go to sleep right now, in case he shows up. You know?" Haley explained.

"I can wait up with you. That way you don't have to be by yourself. I know that things are a little off with you guys right now." Brooke offered.

"Really, Brooke, I'm fine I promise. I am only going to stay up for a little bit, then I'll come to sleep." Haley insisted.

"Ok, see you in the morning Hales." Brooke said and walked up to the room that the two of them will be sharing for the next few days.

"Night Brookie." She half smiled and sat down on the sofa. For the first few minutes she sat there, staring out the window, hoping to see his car round the corner, but when she grew tired of that she picked up her phone and began to scroll through her messages. There was the mass text that she had sent to her parents, Mia, Lucas, and Nathan letting them know that she had landed safely and that she was on her way to the house. He was the only one who hadn't responded. She figured that he was driving and wanted to be safe so he wasn't using his phone, at least that's what she was telling herself. Even Lucas, who had been acting just as strange, texted back with a simple _"Glad to hear it. Have a wonderful break."_ She set her phone back down and picked up the remote. Desperately trying to stay awake, she surfed through the channels twice in an effort to find something worthwhile. Unfortunately for her, she failed at this and began to feel herself drifting off, yet she remained in the same spot on the couch, waiting for him to show up and make things better.

Brooke woke up around 4:00 and turned to see that Haley still wasn't up there sleeping. She took it as a good sign that Nathan had showed up and that they were spending some much needed time together. Suddenly feeling thirsty, Brooke got up and headed down the stairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she reached the bottom step she noticed Haley asleep on the couch with a tiny blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Forgetting about that thirsty feeling, she walked over and knelt down in front of her best friend.

"Hales, wake up." She said and lightly shook her shoulders.

"Is he here?" Haley mumbled, gently rubbing her eyes. She began to sit up slowly and look around the room until she focused her eye line on Brooke.

"No, sorry, he's not. But it is four o'clock in the morning and you have got to get yourself to bed. In just a few hours your parents are going to be here and you can't be looking like you pulled some crazy all-nighter when they get here." Brooke explained and started leading her up the stairs. "Besides, that boy of yours is going to be here and you are going to need some beauty sleep if you want to keep him around." She joked and Haley rolled her eyes.

"Not funny." She commented. "But I am excited to see my parents."

"Good, only a few hours left and it will go so much faster if you get to sleep. So get upstairs and lay down. I'm going to get some water but I'll be up in a few." Brooke playfully commanded.

"Yes ma'am." Haley sleepily saluted and started heading up the stairs.

The next thing she knew, Haley was being shaken awake again, but this time someone else was doing the shaking.

"Wake up, sweetheart, it's breakfast time." Haley heard and opened her eyes to see her grandmother above her. "Brooke is already down there, she helped me actually, and" she paused "Nathan just got here." Haley smiled. "So get up and let's go." Camilla said and held her hand out to help Haley up, but it wasn't necessary because she was already up and out of bed, heading toward her door.

"You coming Grams?" She asked over her shoulder. Camilla just laughed and followed her eager young granddaughter down the stairs.

Haley was practically running through the halls in an attempt to see Nathan just a little bit sooner. When she finally made it to the dining room he was moving dishes from the kitchen and his hands were full so she stopped herself from rushing over to him. Instead, she gave him her biggest, cheesiest smile and walked closer to him.

"Hi." She said cheerily as she reached onto the plate that he was holding and grabbed a piece of bacon off of it.

"Hey." He said and gave her a slight nod before setting the plate down and turning immediately to head back into the kitchen for another one. Brooke walked past right after him and exchanged confused looks with Haley who shrugged and took a seat at the table.

When Nathan came back into the dining room he opted for the seat on the other side of the table, and while he seemed to be acting normal to everyone else, he kept avoiding eye contact with Haley and she was getting tired of it.

Throughout the whole meal he did the same thing. He was purposely ignoring her. She kept trying to get his attention either by looking at him or asking him a question but he would respond and change the subject or just pretend that he didn't see her. So she decided that as soon as breakfast was over she was going to pull him aside and have a conversation about what was going on. She was going to get to the bottom of this attitude of his no matter what.

"Nate, you should see the new engine I got for the mower, this thing is incredible." Whitey said as he put his napkin on top of his plate, signaling that he was done eating. "You up for it?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Nathan responded and stood up.

"Actually," Haley interrupted "before you guys do that, is it ok if I talk to Nathan really fast?"

"Oh, how silly of me. I forgot that you two need some time to get reacquainted." Whitey said. "Of course darlin', just send him my way when you are finished with him." He winked.

"Thanks Grandpa." She smiled and walked over to the other side of the table where Nathan was still standing. She reached her hand out and grabbed his, but noticed that he didn't do his usual two squeezes before interlacing their fingers.

She started walking outside and led him all the way out to the strawberry fields before stopping and turning to him, dropping his hand.

"Hi." She said again.

"What's up?" He responded, looking back at the house.

"What's up?" She scoffed and shook her head. "What's up is that my boyfriend is acting like an ass and I have absolutely no idea why. That's what's up."

"Sorry?" He said as if it were a question. "What do you want me to say Haley?"

"I don't care what you say. I just want to know what is going on with you." Haley explained. "Why are you ignoring me? Why did you hang up yesterday? And what has been going on with you recently? I have no idea what is going on in your life, because you won't let me in." Haley said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, once again avoiding looking at her.

"Of course you don't know because that would be extremely helpful right now. I am starting to worry about us Nathan. I mean, we go days without talking and when we do talk it isn't for long." Haley stopped and looked up at him as a solitary tear fell down her right cheek. "Yesterday, when you were talking about the way things used to be and how you wanted that back, does that mean that you don't feel like that anymore?" He finally looked over at her and she could see the sadness in his eyes. "Because I still do." Her voice broke. "I still get excited to talk to you. My heart still races when I hear your voice or get a text from you. And when I see you…you still take my breath away Nathan Scott." She said and let the tears fall freely from her eyes now. "If you don't feel that anymore, then I just don't know what to say or do to bring that back."

He took a step closer to her and set his hand on her arm. "Haley, I-" He was interrupted by the sound of a car horn repeatedly beeping and tires approaching on the gravel driveway. They both looked over to see her parents pulling up in a rental car. Haley softly waved and turned to wipe away her tears.

"We'll finish this later." Haley said and put on her best fake smile before rushing over to her parents and leaving Nathan standing in the same spot.

"Mom, Dad, I am so happy to see you guys!" Haley yelled as she ran toward them and hugged them.

"Hi Haley Bob, it's nice to see you too." Lydia commented and laughed as she hugged Haley closer.

"Hey honey." Jimmy said. "So is that Nathan that you left standing out there? Or did you get rid of him for someone else?"

Haley faked a laugh. "That's Nathan, Dad."

"Are you going to introduce us or does he have to stay out there all day?" Jimmy asked again.

Haley rolled her eyes at him and motion to Nathan that he needed to come over there. He started walking toward them and as he got closer Haley could tell that the big smile on his face was just as fake as hers. He took one of his hands out of his pocket and shook hands with her parents.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. James, it's nice to finally meet you in person." He smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too." Lydia agreed and gave Haley a slight nod as if to say she approved.

"I agree there Nate. Not that talking to you on the phone gave us a bad impression, but now we can see how you treat our baby girl here." Jimmy smiled.

"Mama and Papa James!" Brooke yelled, running out of the house to hug them.

"Brooke, you act like you haven't seen us in months." Jimmy laughed. "We just had you over for dinner the other night with that boyfriend of yours."

"I know, it was so much fun. Julian says thank you again, by the way." She said.

"That boy is so polite." Lydia commented. "He's welcome over anytime."

"I'll be sure to pass that on." Brooke smiled. "Hales, Julian has the James seal of approval!" She said excitedly, turning to her best friend.

"That's great Brookie!" Haley returned with faked enthusiasm, but she knew Brooke could tell something was off. She shook her head and gave her an "I'll tell you later look."

"Well, how about we get inside. I would like to see those parents of mine who don't seem to want to come greet me." Lydia mentioned and started motioning for everyone to walk back into the house.

"So then I said I don't care if you have ten fish, I just want to know what the soup of the day is." Lydia said as she told everyone the story of how she got kicked out of Olive Garden. "Needless to say, they were either going to spit in my food or kick me out. I prefer the latter." Everyone laughed and hung on every word that came out of her mouth.

"Mom, as much as I love your story-telling I am starting to get hungry." Haley commented. They'd eaten breakfast, but it was now almost 4:00 and they hadn't eaten since and Haley was ready to put an end to that. "I think I am going to go make dinner."

"Oh honey, you don't have to do that." Camilla said and stood up. "I will go get it started."

"Nah, I want to. It's been too long since I've been able to actually cook a meal. Don't worry about it. Sit back, relax, and enjoy yourselves. Besides, we've got a big meal to cook tomorrow." She said and looked over at Nathan. He'd been pretty stand-offish all day, which she half expected but at the same time she'd hoped that he would at least try to make a better impression on her parents. "You want to come help me?" She asked him.

"Sure." He said with a half-smile and followed her into the kitchen. "Hales," He started as soon as the door closed behind them. She looked over at him and he noticed, for about the hundredth time today, the tiredness, sadness, and pain in her eyes. "I think we need to talk."

"Yeah," she nodded "we do." She started busying herself by pulling out pots and looking through the pantry for food to make. "I think I'm going to make macaroni. Does that sound fine?" She asked, trying to change the subject. As much as she wanted to talk earlier, talking is the last thing that she wants to do right now. She knows how the conversation will go and she wants to avoid it as long as possible.

"Haley, put the pots down." He said, walking over next to her and taking them out of her hands. He grabbed onto her shoulders and turned her toward him. "We're going to talk about this, now."

"I have to make dinner. I told them that I would make dinner." She said, trying to turn away. He gave her a look that told her to stop avoiding this.

"Haley, talk to me. Dinner can wait." He said quietly.

"No. I don't want to." She said. "If we talk about this then we have to face reality, and I'm not sure I want to do that right now."

"I know, trust me, I know." He said and sighed. "But we need to be realistic." He looked at her and noticed the tears welling up in her eyes as she nodded. "I hate to say this, but we hardly talk anymore. We never see each other. And we are both busy with our separate lives." He shrugged and shook his head, avoiding eye contact with her.

"What are you saying?" She asked and took a shaky breath. She was trying desperately to get him to look her in the eyes. She wanted to see whatever emotion was going through his mind right now.

"I'm saying," he paused "that I think it would be a good idea if we take a little break. We'll see how we feel apart and go from there." He explained.

"What?" Haley asked, stepping back from him. "Nathan, we are constantly away from each other. What makes you think that putting a label on it will give us a new perspective on it?"

"Look, Hales, I don't know, but I think it's what's best for us right now." He said and tried to take a step closer to her in an attempt to comfort her, but she took another step back.

"Just go, Nathan." She said as tears streamed down her face. He reached out to her again and she put her hand up and shook her head. "Go." She said quietly. He sighed and turned toward the back door to leave. Just as his hand touched the handle he heard Haley whisper his name. "Why are you doing this?" She asked.

"Maybe you were right earlier." He said. "Maybe I just don't feel those things anymore." He explained and gave her one last look before turning and walking out the door, closing it loudly behind him.

Haley leaned onto the counter for support, but found that she couldn't even rely on that and slide down to sit on the floor, leaning against the cupboards as she cried.

"Hey," Brooke said opening the kitchen door "we heard a door close. Did you guys need something?" She asked, looking around the kitchen but not seeing anyone. "Hales?" She asked and heard sniffling over by the stove. She rushed over to where she heard her friend, hoping that she wasn't injured. "Are you ok?" She asked just before she found Haley sitting on the floor. "Aw, Hales, what happened?" She sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around the shaking form of her best friend sitting next to her.

"He's gone Brooke." Haley said.

"What do you mean gone?" Brooke asked. "He just went out to get something to make dinner, right?"

Haley shook her head and took a deep breath in. "No, he's gone and I don't think he's coming back. He just doesn't love me anymore."

"Hales, come on, I don't believe that for a second." Brooke said, rubbing her shoulder. "I have seen the way that boy looks at you, the way he acts around you, and I have witnessed your love first hand. There is no way that your love just stopped, like that."

"What is going on in here?" Lydia and Camilla asked as they walked in the kitchen, closely followed by Jimmy and Whitey. They all stopped as they saw a broken Haley being comforted by Brooke on the kitchen floor.

"Alright, we've got some serious bucking up to do here. Jimmy, it looks like we're going to need pizza, ice cream, and sparkling apple juice. At least three of each, no less." Lydia said and he nodded, grabbing the car keys off the table and walking out the door.

Whitey and Camilla exchanged looks and before either said anything he was grabbing his car keys and heading in the same direction as Jimmy.

"Well, it looks like it's just the girls right now." Camilla commented. "What do you say we move this to the comfortable couches in the living room?"

Haley just nodded and, with help from Brooke, stood up and made her way to the living room.

"Remember, Hales, men are rats, they're fleas on rats, worse than that, they're amoebas on fleas on rats." Brooke said.

"Did you really just quote _Grease_?" Haley asked, half laughing half sniffling.

"You bet your ass I did, and look it put a little smile on your face." Brooke smiled aand rubbed her arm.

"Thanks Brookie, you really are the best friend that I could ever ask for." Haley commented and leaned into her.

"I'm here for you, anytime you need me." Brooke said and they sat down on the couches next to Lydia and Camilla. "Now, let's get you through this."

**Let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here it is, chapter 14! Things are really getting going now! I am so excited to see what all of you think as the story goes on so please share with me, even if you aren't happy I would like to hear your opinions. **

**Enjoy :)**

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><p>Nathan heard a banging on his door and sighed as he sauntered over to open it. He looked up, expecting to see either an extremely pissed off Brooke or a silent, crying Haley. He was partially right on one account. Unfortunately the person standing in his doorway was a pissed off Whitey. This was something that he had grown accustomed to during high school, but it's a little different when you are getting yelled at for not passing the ball enough compared to when you basically dump your coach's favorite granddaughter.<p>

Whitey glared at Nathan and didn't even wait for an invite before pushing his way through the door.

"Look, Whitey, I don't want to deal with the yelling right now. Can we just do this later?" Nathan asked and ran a hand through his hair, looking down.

"Oh, you don't want to deal with this right now?" Whitey asked. "I guess I should just leave then. I mean it's not like I came over here just to talk to you about this or anything." He said and turned to leave. "Actually, I didn't come here to talk to you about this. I came here to yell at you. So sit down and shut up because you are going to listen to me, got it?" He waited for Nathan to take a seat on the chair behind him. "I realize that your life has been rough Nathan. I get that, but that doesn't mean that you have to hurt Haley. She is one of the best things that has ever happened to you, if not the best, and guess what? I have seen the difference she has made in your life in just a few short months and it has been for the better." Nathan shook his head and looked up.

"You think I don't know that? Do you honestly think that I don't know that she is the best thing I have in my life and that losing her is going to be harder than anything I have dealt with, next to losing my mom." Nathan yelled. "I also know that she deserves better than some low-life basketball player who's dad abandoned him. She's got some guy at her school who is going after her, and she should be able to let him into her life. No matter how much it kills me."

Whitey sighed and pulled up a chair next to him. "Nathan, I know my granddaughter, and despite the fact that her heart is breaking right now she loves you more than you could ever know. No other guy compares to you in her mind. You've found your Camilla, son, don't let her go." He said and put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "You just need to be honest with her and tell her everything you just told me, not quite at that decibel though."

"I can't do that," Nathan said "and you shouldn't want me too. I'm too messed up."

"Maybe you're right." Whitey sighed and stood up. "This is not the Nathan Scott that I know. You are acting like some immature teenager with a bone to pick. Haley should be with the man she fell in love with. When he comes back you come find my granddaughter and make things right, but be sure this 'messed up' boy is gone for good." With that he turned and walked out the door, leaving Nathan to sit there by himself and think about everything that happened.

Brooke walked into the kitchen from the living room. She and Haley ended up sleeping on the couches last night while everyone else went upstairs. Lydia and Camilla had started a pot of coffee and were standing there talking quietly.

"Good morning, Brooke." Lydia said. "How is she doing?"

"She's alright, in her own way she is dealing with this. I would expect some fake happiness for a little while but soon enough she will break again. I just wish that she would open up about it some more, you know. She's so strong that she feels like she doesn't have to share her problems with anyone else." Brooke explained.

"I know what you mean. I remember when she was seven and she got her first fish. She would sit and watch that thing swim around that little tank all the time. She loved it. Then, one day she walked away from the tank with a sad expression on her face. I immediately knew what happened but she just faked a smile and walked away, refusing to talk about it. She isn't one who likes to accept change." Lydia said.

Brooke and Camilla just nodded in response.

"So what do you ladies say to getting this dinner started?" Camilla asked. "This bird isn't going to prepare itself."

"Ah, right!" Lydia said and stood up from her stool. "Let's do this."

"Yeah, sure. It can't be that hard, right?" Brooke asked, lifting up a bag of vegetables and looking around inside it.

"Have you ever cooked before Brooke?" Camilla asked.

"Define cooking." Brooke smiled sheepishly.

Lydia laughed and shook her head. "Sorry Brooke, but I have tasted your experiments. You are staying away from all things food until we are done cooking."

"Come on Lydia, she has to learn some time." Camilla commented.

"Actually, Mama James is right. I've tried to learn before, she actually tried to teach me. I'm just one of those people who is not meant to be behind the stove." Brooke said. "But that is perfectly fine because I can make a table arrangement or something."

"Good idea sweetie." Lydia said and pointed to the decorations over in the corner of the room. "Go ahead and look through there for anything you need. Feel free to get creative."

"Oh, trust me, it will be fabulous." Brooke winked and turned just in time to see Haley walking in behind her. "Morning best friend. How are you doing?"

"I'm ok." She said and gave everyone a half smile. "I'll be back to help cook in a little bit, I just want to go for a quick run and I'll be back."

"Don't worry about it darling. You take all the time you need." Camilla said. "Be safe though, and watch out for cars." She said as Haley made her way out the back door. "I really hope that she cheers up soon."

"Yeah, well that bonehead Nathan needs to come to his senses first." Brooke scoffed.

Lydia and Camilla turned to her and laughed a little at how protective Brooke was of her best friend.

"What? It's true and you know it." Brooke pointed out. "Actually, I think I might go have a nice talk with that boy to see what is going on in that oddly proportionate head of him." She said and walked toward the door. "I'll be back once I get some answers." And with a quick wave of her hand she was gone.

Brooke took the truck and started driving from memory to Nathan's apartment and after getting lost a few times she finally found it. She pulled into the parking lot and checked to make sure his car was there before walking over and waiting for someone else to walk in so that she wouldn't have to buzz up to his room. Getting to his room wasn't hard, but getting him to answer the door was another story. After knocking consistently for about two minutes he finally opened the door.

"I would really appreciate it if you would stop doing that." He said as he pulled the door open, revealing his messy, disheveled appearance.

"Yeah, well I would appreciate it if you would treat my best friend right, but we don't always get what we want." She said and looked him over. "Are you drunk?"

"No," He sighed, resting his head against the door "but I am hung over and your voice is extremely loud right now. So if you are going to lecture me could you use your inside voice?" He asked and opened the door further, granting her access to his apartment.

"Not that you deserve it, but I suppose I could do that." She said and walked over to sit on one of the stools by his counter. "I'm not here to lecture you either. I'm here to get some answers."

"To what questions?"

"Well, what made your feelings for her go away? I told Haley this before but I don't really believe you. You know why? Because you still look at her the same way you did on that last day of summer. So, unless you are really good at pretending to love someone, you still feel the exact same way."

"Look, I just need some space. I still care for Haley, I always will, we just don't belong together."

"Bullshit." Brooke said.

"What?"

"I call bullshit." She repeated. "If there was ever a couple more suited for each other I would be surprised. And you still 'care' for her, really? Because your appearance today suggests that you have more than just care for her in that heart and head of yours. You still love her, no doubt in my mind."

Nathan just glanced up at her and looked away.

"Look, I know how you feel, you know how you feel, but most importantly due to your stupidity Haley doesn't know how you feel. She thinks that you don't feel, as the case may be. So that brings me to my second question. What brought on said stupidity?"

"Brooke, I think that it is wonderful that you are looking out for Haley. Best friends should stick together, especially when guys turn into asses. So, that's what you should be doing right now. Go be with Haley."

"Nathan, whatever you are scared about isn't worth it." Brooke explained. "You and Haley can get through anything. So, grow up, be a man, and make things right before it's too late." She said and headed out the door.

Nathan sighed and picked up a pillow from the floor and launched it across the room. He pulled his cell phone out and once again dialed the number he'd been trying to reach for the last couple days.

"Hello, you've reached Lucas Scott. I'm a little busy right now but I'll get back to you soon." Nathan heard and waited for the beep.

"Luke," He paused "you don't want to talk to me. I get it, but at some point you are going to have to pick up the phone. I went to see him, but I don't really want to tell you what happened over your voicemail."

_**Flashback**_

_Nathan walked into the restaurant looking for the man he never thought he would see again. They'd agreed to meet here at this time, but Nathan knew Dan well enough to know that he would be early and waiting for him. Some things never change, and Nathan was proved right when he saw Dan sitting in the back corner. He slowly walked over and wished that Lucas had agreed to come with him._

"_Dan." He greeted roughly as he sat down across from him and nodded._

"_Nathan," Dan smiled "it's nice to see you son. You've grown up well."_

_Nathan nodded in response. "Yeah, don't have you to thank for that."_

"_I guess I deserved that." Dan looked down. "I hope you don't mind, but I already ordered for you. I hope you still like macaroni and cheese. I remember that you used to love it." Dan smiled._

"_Yeah, that's fine." Nathan shrugged. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?"_

"_We'll get to that." Dan said and took a sip of his water. "For now I want to know how your life is. Are you happy?"Dan looked around. "Where's Lucas? Is he running late?" _

"_He's not coming, Dan. And guess what, I'm not a little kid anymore. You can't just make small talk with me and ask me about my life when you chose not to be a part of it." Nathan said and looked away._

Nathan returned from his thoughts and remembered that he was still leaving a voicemail.

"Anyway, we need to talk. There's a lot going on right now, and there's some stuff that you really need to know about. So, just call me back when you can because shutting me out isn't going to make him go away." Nathan ended the call and leaned back in his seat, rubbing his hands over his face.

Haley felt herself getting lost in her head with each bound she took. Every time her foot hit the concrete she thought about Nathan. He was invading her thoughts and that was the last thing she wanted. She stopped running and placed her hands on her knees, leaning forward and catching her breath. When she finally looked up she noticed that she was outside the local drug store.

In an effort to distract herself from her life she decided to go look at all of the random stuff inside. Each aisle had something different, but nothing was really grabbing her attention until she reached the aisle containing the hair dye. After thinking about it for a minute she decided that if one thing in her life was going to change regardless of her thoughts on it she was going to be in control of the next change she experienced.

She looked through all the colors until she finally decided that she, the naturally brunette Haley, was going to become a blonde. She grabbed the box with the exact shade that she wanted and took a picture on her phone and sent it to Brooke with a "this is going to happen" caption.

When she was about to put her phone away she noticed an unread message from Lucas responding with an ok when she asked how he was doing. Being impulsive, she decided to call him. So she paid for her hair dye and dialed the number as she was leaving the store.

The phone rang twice and then, when she was about to give up he answered. "Hey Hales." He said hesitantly. "Is Nathan having you call me for him now?" He asked, slightly joking.

"Hi. Um, no." Haley said and she knew that she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding the emotions that laced her voice.

"Haley, are you ok? What's wrong?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't mean to be interrupting your Thanksgiving with Peyton's family, but I just saw your message and I called you. I don't really know why I called you. I mean you are his brother so you probably are supportive of him and think that he made a good decision. But, then again you asked what was wrong which means that you don't really know what happened." Haley rambled.

"Woah, Haley, slow down there. What are you talking about?"

"It's over Luke. He doesn't love me anymore." Haley said quietly, blinking back the tears.

"What? You're kidding?"

Haley shook her head. "Nope, it happened yesterday. So, yeah, today's a good day to be thankful." She tried to laugh.

"Well, he must have gotten all the stupid genes in the family because he really messed up by letting you go."

"Thanks Luke. I just can't figure out why he did it. He said that he doesn't feel the same way about me anymore, but he's been acting weird for a while now and I can't help but feel like he met someone else. Do you know anything about what's been going on with him?"

"No, we haven't talked in a while actually. I've been busy and our schedules are opposite." He explained but Haley could sense some hesitation in his voice. "Listen Hales, I am here if you need me or if you just want to vent about my idiot brother but could you text me if you need me today. I am getting some weird looks from Peyton's dad and I need to go."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. I'll just talk to you later." Haley said and hung up the phone. She put it back in her pocket and continued walking back toward the house as she wiped at the tear-tracks on her face.

"Haley," She heard Brooke's voice calling her and looked over to see her driving alongside the sidewalk. "Come on, get in the car. Let's get you back home." Brooke said and waited for Haley to get in the car before driving the car again, rubbing a comforting hand across her friend's back the whole way there.

"_Fair enough." Dan said with a slight smile. "You always were very to the point. I guess some things never change."_

_Nathan just looked at him, waiting for him to get to why he got back in contact after all these years._

"_Look, before I tell you what needs to be said, there are a few things that you should know." Dan and Nathan both shifted awkwardly. "I want you to know that even though I wasn't there for you I was still checking up on you every once in a while. I was there for countless basketball games in the background. I watched you and your brother graduate from the outside looking in, and the night that you made your commitment to UNC I recorded the announcement and kept every article I could find. I did the same thing for Lucas."_

"_Why are you telling me all of this Dan?" Nathan asked._

"_Because, in light of recent news, I realized how you boys must think of me and I don't want that. I made a few mistakes and those mistakes have defined me for the longest time, but I decided that those mistakes had nothing to do with you or your brother. There is no excuse for me leaving, but I don't want you boys to be ashamed to have me as your father." _

"_That's the thing, Dan, we aren't ashamed to have you as our father because you aren't our father." Nathan said. "Biologically, yes, I supposed that is what you are, but we don't recognize you that way. We didn't need you growing up. What makes you think we need you know?"_

"Hello," Nathan pulled his phone out from under his pillow and answered it without looking to see who was calling.

"What is wrong with you?" Lucas asked. "One meeting with Dan and you screw up the life of the one person you love the most? Like father like son, huh Nate?"

"Are you serious right now? Shut up, you don't know what the hell you are even talking about." Nathan responded.

"I know that Haley called me about 10 minutes ago crying her eyes out and she told me that you dumped her. I also know that you met with Dan. So do you want to tell me the whole story or should I just believe that you are an ass and leave it at that?"

"Well maybe if you had gone with me to meet with Dan you would understand what I am dealing with right now."

"I told you that I don't want to see him, and that isn't going to change. But guess what Mr. Avoider, we aren't talking about him right now. We are talking about Haley, the girl who's heart you broke for no reason what-so-ever."

"Lucas, stop it." Nathan warned. "There are so many people who have yelled at me already, I don't need you to do it to. Can't I have at least one person in my corner?"

"Look, Nate, you know that I will always have your back even when you are being an idiot, but I can't help you out if I don't know what is going on. Help me help you."

"Luke, it's not that simple. I can't tell you about that without talking to you about Dan, and you won't let me tell you about what happened with him."

"Ok, fine. I'll make you a deal." Luke offered. "I will listen to your Dan story if you promise to tell me the full story of why you broke up with Haley."

"Deal." Nathan agreed.

"_Ok, so you don't need me per se, but you need to know this information for your own good." Dan explained._

"_If this information is so important why haven't you told me yet?" Nathan asked, annoyed with the fact that Dan kept building up to his big news and then changing the subject._

"_I have a genetic heart problem." Dan said and waited for a reaction from Nathan. "It is called HCM and it messes with the rate at which my heart pumps blood. If it goes untreated it can be fatal. There is a 50/50 chance of passing it on. That is why I wanted to meet with you and your brother. You both deserve to know what you are at risk for. I just hope that you both were lucky enough to avoid it."_

"_Wow," Nathan said. "How did you find this out? This isn't one of those diseases that are checked for very often."_

"_I had a heart attack a few months back and they discovered that this was the reason behind it. I knew that as soon as I was healthy enough I had to let you know so that you could get tested. This is the last thing that I would ever want for you boys."_

"_So you go our whole lives not giving us anything, but the one thing you might have given us could very well kill us? Way to go Dan."_

"_Nathan, I understand that you are upset, but if you would just find a way to get your brother to see me I would appreciate it. He needs to know this too. Or you could tell him. Either way, make sure that you two know what you are up against." Dan said and pulled his wallet out, placing more than enough money on the table for the food they ordered. He stood up and looked down at his youngest son. "Thank you for meeting with me son. I hope that you have better luck than I do."_

"Are you serious? He's dying?" Lucas asked. "Are you sure he wasn't lying just to get close to us again? I wouldn't doubt it."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. So I looked around, made a few calls, and sure enough he was telling the truth." Nathan paused. "We need to know Luke."

"Nate, I don't know about this. I mean what if one of us, or even both, find out that we have this thing? Do you know what that means? We would be done with basketball. I mean that's it, playing one day and then the next it's just gone."

"I realize that, but what is more important your life, or the game? I love it too Luke, but there are some things that are just more important."

"Like Haley?"

"Yeah." Nathan sighed.

"Ok, so explain why you had to break up with her because that just isn't clicking with me."

"Look, I just put myself in her shoes. What if she were the one who had this and then one day something happens to her? I couldn't handle that, so why should I make her?"

"Ok, but if she were the one in the situation wouldn't you want to be with her every step of the way?"

"Well, yeah, obviously."

"Ok, so why can't she be there for you? Besides, you don't even know if you have it. Don't you think that you may be overreacting just a little bit?"

"No." Nathan answered. "I'm just preparing and not getting my hopes up. Besides, I overheard this guy asking her out when she was on the phone with me one day."

"When was this?"

"Right when I was about to tell her about talking to Dan."

"But you didn't?"

"No, I hung up." Nathan muttered.

"You hung up on your girlfriend when another guy was asking her out? Yeah that makes perfect sense to me." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Whatever, I realized that she had this whole other life and that I didn't need to burden her anymore."

"Wow, you really are a martyr, aren't you? You'll be ok if everyone else is happy, right?"

"Well if she's happy than I'm happy for her. If she's with me, she won't be happy."

"Ok, here's what I think, you are letting Dan get to you. Not directly, but in a way that causes you so much stress that you feel the need to cut everyone out of your life and be alone. I've seen it before, and I'm not going to let it happen again. So get off your hung-over ass, yes I know that you're hung-over because I know you little brother, and go tell the girl that you love that you are an idiot and beg her to take you back." Lucas advised.

"Sorry Luke, that isn't going to happen. I made appointments for us tomorrow in Boston to get checked out. I'm leaving now and I'll be staying at your house meet me there tomorrow morning." Nathan said and hung up the phone.

"You ready for this Hales?" Brooke asked. After picking her up they drove back to the house and Haley wanted to dye her hair right away. So they went upstairs and Brooke bleached and dyed her hair. Brooke had finished dying it and styling it, now she had Haley faced away from the mirror so that she couldn't see it yet.

"I'm ready." Haley said calmly. She hadn't looked in a mirror once since the process started but she didn't really care what it looked like, as long as she didn't look like the same Haley.

"Alright, but I'm going to warn you, you look a lot different. You probably won't recognize yourself at first."

"Even better." Haley said and turned around. Her hair had changed from the dark, natural brunette color that she had always had into this soft blonde that looked as if it could in fact be her natural hair color. "Brooke, it looks great. Thank you."

"Of course. I've got your back Hales, anything that you need, I am here for you." Brooke responded and hugged her from behind. "Now, what do you say we go show those family members of yours what the new, gorgeous Haley looks like?" Haley smiled, nodded, and stood up walking arm in arm with Brooke out of the room.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think! Please :)<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's the next chapter...hope you guys like it!**

**Enjoy :)**

"Hales, wait up." Mia said, trying desperately to catch up to her roommate. They'd been back at school for a few weeks now and Haley had been dealing with the break-up but she was still pretty heartbroken. She and Nathan hadn't talked at all, and while she'd been getting updates from Lucas she knew that there was something he still wasn't telling her. The only thing it could possibly be, in her opinion, was that Nathan found someone else and had moved on already.

That was the last thing she wanted to think about. It only made her start thinking that Nathan was just using her until he found someone better which really couldn't have been that hard. He does have all those basketball groupies at school who are just dying to get with him. It would be ridiculous to expect him not to give in to that kind of offer.

"Hey Mia, what's up?" Haley asked when Mia caught up and started walking next to her.

"Oh, nothing, I just saw you walking and figured that we could walk to class together." Mia said. "You seem to be doing better today."

"Yeah, I decided that I'm not going to spend any more time crying over Nathan Scott. If he's moved on to someone else, then I am going to do that too. Just not with Chris Keller."

"Good thinking, he would be a bad choice."

"Definitely, so starting tomorrow I am going to put myself out there. Look out Harvard, here comes Haley James."

"They aren't ready for what is about to come their way." Mia agreed and nudged Haley.

"You got that right. I am going to be different now. I've got this new hair I need to change my personality to go along with it right?"

"If that is what you want, then I say go for it, but don't forget that the real Haley James is pretty great and there are far too many people who love her for you to get rid of her too quickly. Besides, Brooke would kill me if I let you change too much."

"Ok, so the only real difference will be that I will be more outgoing, but we can pretend that I am making a drastic change in my life."

"Much better." Mia agreed, smiling and linking arms with Haley as they continued their walk to class.

"Luke, it's me, did you get your results?" Nathan asked, not giving Lucas the chance to answer the phone properly.

"Yeah, I just got them, why?" Lucas asked as he flipped the envelope around in his hands, anxious to know what it would tell him.

"Good, I got mine yesterday. I am right around the corner from your house, we'll open them together."

"Ok, I'll just wait for you then." Lucas said and hung up his phone. He walked over to the door and opened it up, preparing for Nathan's arrival. He went and sat on the stairs directly in front of the door, waiting with the envelope in his hand.

"Are those your results?" Peyton asked as she walked down the stairs behind him. Unlike Nathan, Lucas wanted Peyton there with him through everything. It may have been selfish, but he needed her and he knew that she would have killed him if he hadn't told her about it. She was really supportive of him and made sure to point out to Nathan that Haley should know what is going on too, at any chance she got.

"Yeah," he paused as Nathan walked in the door and nodded, sitting down next to him while Peyton sat between them. "Nate got his too so we are going to open them together."

"Ok, well, whatever happens we can handle it. I'm here for you." She smiled and leaned back to give her a small kiss.

"I love you. You know that?" Lucas asked, keeping their eyes locked.

"Oh, I know, I love you too." She said and looked over at Nathan. "The same goes for you too Nate, we'll be here for you no matter what."

"Thanks Peyton," he sighed "you ready for this Luke?" He asked, rubbing his hands on his pants before picking up his own envelope.

"Let's do it." Luke nodded.

They both picked up their results and opened up the envelopes, pulling out the letters. Peyton covered her eyes and put her head in her lap. Nathan and Lucas each took in one big breath before unfolding the pieces of paper that included crucial information about their futures. Their eyes scanned over the words before them, ignoring the fillers and getting to what they really wanted to know.

"I don't have it." Nathan said, letting his breath out. He looked over at Lucas who had a big smile across his face.

"Me either." He said, looking away from Nathan and back at Peyton. "I'm okay."

She looked up and smiled at him through the tears of joy streaming down her face. "I love you." She said and grabbed his face, pulling it to hers.

He leaned in and kissed her back, standing up and picking her up off of her feet. Nathan stood there, having just received the news that should make his life much better, yet he saw how happy his brother was and he knew that there was something missing from his life. There was _someone_ missing from his life.

"Nate, this is great, we're good." Lucas said and turned, expecting to see his brother standing there, but he didn't see Nathan anywhere.

"You know where he went, don't you?" Peyton asked, running her hands through Lucas' hair.

"Oh yeah." He replied and went back to focusing on his girlfriend.

Nathan reached campus quickly, having broken a few speed limits getting there, but he didn't care about that. He knew where he had to be and wanted to get there as fast as possible. He parked and started making his way through the crowds of people going to classes and walking around with great skill. Before he knew it he was standing outside her dorm. Luckily there were enough people coming and leaving that he was able to get into the building.

The easy part was over, now he had to get to her. He knew where her room was, that part was easy too, but getting her to actually listen to him, that was going to be difficult. He didn't even know what he was going to say, all he knew was that she was the first person he wanted to see, the only person he wanted to see and if it meant he had to admit that he was an ass then he didn't mind that.

He got to her door and knocked, waiting patiently for her to answer the door. When she finally did, she appeared to be laughing at something, but that wasn't what stood out to him the most. She was blonde, gorgeous blonde, not that she wasn't beautiful before but this took it to a whole different level. She shyly smiled at him and he didn't even bother with words. He was always a man of action and that wasn't about to change.

He took one step forward, closing the distance between them and placed one hand on her cheek, guiding her face to his. He lightly kissed her, but upon feeling her lips under his again he felt the need for more. He hungrily pulled at her lips, kissing her with more passion and love then he ever thought he was capable of. They didn't once break apart, but slowly started to make their way back into the room, neither saying anything but both fully aware of the fact that this was it, they were back for good and they would talk later.

"Woah, um, I think that it is time for us to leave Chris." Mia said, grabbing his arm and pulling him up from his seat. "Haley and Nathan have a lot to talk about."

Haley pulled away quickly, having forgotten that they were in there, but Nathan refused to let her go. He hugged her to him and kissed her hair.

"Why? It looks like they could use a little supervision if you ask me." Chris commented.

"No, we're leaving." Mia said, dragging him out of the room. "Enjoy your time together, nice to see you again Nathan." She said and closed the door behind her.

Nathan smiled and leaned back down to continue kissing her, but before his lips could reach hers she put her hand up and blocked him, taking two steps back.

"Hold on, Mia's right, we have a lot to talk about." She said, sitting on her bed and motioning for him to take the chair across the room.

He nodded, but instead of sitting so far away from her he grabbed the chair and pulled it over so he was sitting right in front of her. "You're right, let's talk. I really like your hair, why'd you change it?"

"I changed it because everything else was changing and I wanted to change the way I looked too, but that's not what we need to talk about. So start singing." She said, crossing her arms.

She was being tough and he wasn't entirely sure how well that would play out for him but he was just happy to be in her presence again. "Well you look beautiful, like always."

"Nathan." She warned, cutting him off.

He held his hands up with a slight smile on his face. "Sorry. Ok, so I was an ass. I know it, you know, everyone knows it, but I am willing to admit it. I was trying to protect you by hurting you, which now that I look back was really stupid and I can't even accept my reasoning because it was ridiculous but either way at the time I thought it was the right thing to do, you know?"

"No, not really, because I still have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm getting there." He explained. "So about two months ago Dan started calling. He wanted to meet with Lucas and me; he had something to tell us. Luke refused to answer any of his calls and he definitely wasn't going to go see him. I however was put in the middle, still not trusting Dan, but wanting to hear what it was that was so important that he had to tell us. Anyway, I became really stressed with that and school and basketball and we weren't talking as much which was probably my fault. Then I met with Dan and he had some big news for us. Luke wasn't even taking my calls at this point so letting him know was difficult."

"Letting him know what? Is there something wrong?" She asked, concern covering her face.

"Dan, our father has a genetic condition known as HCM. It has to do with his heart and if it goes untreated it can be fatal. He wanted to let us know because it is important for us to know what we could have wrong with us. This could really affect our futures, it could end our basketball careers."

"It could end your basketball careers?" She asked, unbelievably. "It could end your lives. Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I was scared. I was scared that I had it and that you would see me differently and that it would be too much to handle. I did try to tell you once."

"What? When?"

"Right before Thanksgiving break, I'd called you and we were talking and right as I was about to tell you that guy knocked on your door and asked you out. I realized that you could have a better life without me, one that wasn't burdened by a sick boyfriend who was miles away, but cherished by one who lived two minutes away from you. So I hung up and started planning how I was going to convince you that I didn't love you anymore. Did it work?"

"Are you serious?" She asked and leaned forward, hitting him with both hands. "That is possibly the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Do you realize that you broke my heart Nathan Scott? Did it even occur to you that maybe, just maybe I would want to be there for you through all of this? That my love for you is permanent?"

"Ok, I said that it was stupid of me." He said, grabbing her hands to calm the beating down. "Look, I still love you, I always will, but I knew that if I ended up testing positive for HCM I couldn't stand the thought of putting you through the possibility of me dropping to the floor one day and never getting back up. I wouldn't want to put you through that because if that happened to you I don't know what I would do. So, instead of being selfish, I pushed you away."

"That is still the stupidest thing I have ever heard, no matter how thoughtful it is. I do see where you are coming from though, but you should let me choose if I want to be with you no matter what."

"Ok, I promise." He said and pulled her hands to him, lightly kissing her palms. "Besides, I missed you too much to be without you any longer."

"Me too." She said. "Wait, if you are here does that mean something? Why did you come back?"

"I took the test, so did Luke, and we are both ok. Luckily Dan didn't pass all of his genes onto us."

"You're ok, nothing's wrong?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm better than ok, I'm with you." He smiled and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Finally." She smiled and leaned up to kiss him. He eagerly returned the kiss, both of them smiling the whole time, just happy to be back in each other's arms.

"So, who was that guy in here earlier?" Nathan asked. They were laying in her bed, content to just be holding onto each other. They kissed for about 20 minutes before Haley looked up at him and asked him to hold her until he had to leave. That was about two hours ago and they'd been in this position since then. Nathan on the bed, Haley half on top of him, her head on his chest and his arm wrapped around her back. They talked occasionally, but their emotions pretty much wiped them out and they were happy resting together.

"Who, Chris?"

He nodded. "That's him isn't it? The guy who asked you out."

"You don't have to worry about 'the Keller' babe. He's harmless. Besides, he's got nothing on my sexy boyfriend." She winked.

"You think I'm sexy huh?" He asked.

"Mmhmm." She nodded. "But having your shirt on is really taking you down a notch to just hot."

"Really? I guess I'll have to settle for hot then. I'll just save sexy for another time, when you least expect it." He winked.

"I'm looking forward to it." She smiled.

"I really do like your hair." He said, playing with a strand of it. "I mean I liked your hair before, but this is different, it suits you and makes your eyes look amazing."

"I guess I can pull off being blonde."

"Oh, you can more than pull it off. You make blonde look good."

"Thanks Nate." She kissed his chest through his t-shirt.

"Are you guys decent?" Mia asked, knocking as she opened the door.

"Yeah, we're good." Haley said, smiling.

"Hey, you're voice has some more pep in it. That's a good sign." She said, walking in the room all the way. "So is the current cuddling position you are in. Are you guys back together? For good?"

"Yeah, she just couldn't resist me anymore." Nathan joked, flexing his muscles. Haley laughed and lightly hit his stomach.

"Excuse me, you are the one who came knocking on my door. I was all ready to move on, just ask Mia." She said.

"It's true Nate. She was done with you as of this morning." Mia confirmed.

"What? You were going to move on?" He asked, feigning hurt.

"Yep, I was going to be fully moved on as of tomorrow. I guess that it's a good thing you showed up today." She smiled up at him and gave him a quick peck. "I have to pee." She said and stood up, walking to the bathroom.

"Don't take it too seriously Nate. She'd told me several times that she was going to start moving on 'tomorrow' and it never happened. She loves you as much as you love her. That's something that doesn't just go away. You guys have something special." Mia winked.

"Thanks Mia, and thanks for being there for her while I was being an ass."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for, no need to thank me. But if you really want to, you could treat me and Jake to dinner. What do you say to a double date tonight?"

"Make it a triple to include Luke and Peyton and I'm in, but Luke can pay for himself."

"Cool, so you go tell them and Haley and I will spend time getting pretty. See you around eight buddy." "Can I at least wait until Haley's out of the bathroom to say bye?" He asked with a puppy dog expression on his face.

"Ah, you're adorable wanting to see your girlfriend, but no, you can't. Now get out of here before I force you out." Mia warned.

"I'm not afraid of you." Nathan said, standing up and puffing out his chest.

"Your choice." Mia shrugged and walked over to him, grabbing his earlobe and starting to drag him backward.

"Ow," Nathan said, startled by her actions. He thought she was going to try to push him or something. He was wrong. "Mia, let go, that hurts."

"Um, Mia, what are you doing to my boyfriend?" Haley asked, standing near the bathroom door with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hales, she tried to get me to leave before saying bye to you." Nathan explained. "We are going out with Mia, Jake, Luke, and Peyton tonight and it is my job to go tell them. I'll see you later." He said and kissed her before waving and walking away, looking back and winking at her.

"I hope you had fun tonight Hales." Nathan said as they sat on Lucas' couch. Everyone else had dispersed after dinner. Mia and Jake back to campus, Luke and Peyton up to his room, and the rest of the roommates were home for the weekend. So Haley and Nathan called dibs on the living room.

"I did, but the dinner wasn't what made my day great." She smiled and turned her head to place a light kiss on his adam's apple. "That was all you."

"Well I do what I can." He smirked. "You made my day pretty fantastic yourself."

"I do what I can." She mimicked, leaning in closer to him. "Hey Nathan." She paused.

"Yeah baby?" He asked, smoothing her hair down.

"I'm happy. I just wanted you to know that. I'm happy, because you make me happy, and I'm happy because you are here with me. I'm happy because you are healthy, but I would be here for you even if you weren't. It hurt me that you wanted to keep that from me." She said and Nathan was about to interrupt, but she put her fingers up to his lips to stop him. "You got your chance to talk earlier, now it's my turn. It hurt me, but I understand why you did it. I love that you tried to put my feelings first and while it didn't work out in either of our favors you thought that you were doing the right thing. I know that we are going to be just fine, stronger than ever even, but I just wish that we hadn't spent all that time apart."

"I love you." Nathan replied. That's all he needed to say, because it was the best response there was and the only one she wanted to hear.

"What do you say we spend some time making up for all the time we missed out on?" She asked, looking up at him, her eyes big and golden brown as she devilishly smiled at him.

"I say you're a genius." He smiled and stood up, taking her by the hand and walking toward the door. "You're car or mine?"

"Yours. I don't plan on going anywhere." She smiled, squeezing his hand.

**Let me know what you think!**


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